![\"Trish](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/K7Y3XDDZBNJULEL7P6CWT25U7Q.jpg\")
Trish Gordon received chemotherapy in 2014 after her diagnosis <\/p>\nA Scottish hospital doctor who survived a brain tumour has said playing bridge aided her recovery and helped her return to medicine.<\/p>\n
Trish Gordon, 61, was medically retired and told she had just five to 10 years to live after being diagnosed with a brain tumour more than a decade ago.<\/p>\n
The senior doctor, who lives in Edinburgh, first sought medical help in September 2013 after the entire right side of her body gave way while she was examining a patient.<\/p>\n
She was initially given the all clear but, a few months later, she had a seizure while driving her car and was diagnosed with a grade 2 oligodendroglioma.<\/p>\n
Surgeons removed a 10cm tumour in 2014, but the operation left the single mother struggling with concentration, communication and everyday tasks.<\/p>\n
Trish Gordon received chemotherapy in 2014 after her diagnosis <\/p>\n
Ms Gordon attempted to return to work but realised the challenges she faced were too great and was medically retired in September 2015.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy whole life was turned upside down. I knew there were risks with the surgery, but nothing really prepares you for how much your life can change,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cOvernight, things I\u2019d done without thinking suddenly became difficult. I wasn\u2019t able to drive for a year.<\/p>\n
\u201cSimple tasks such as walking my son to school were too much. I would come back and stare at the wall. Any background noise or stimulation felt too much.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Gordon said finding words was a big issue for her and she found it hard to communicate with patients.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy cognitive function had totally changed. It was no longer possible to work at that time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was grieving the life I previously had. There were some really dark days but, as a single parent, my main priority was to keep fighting for my nine-year-old.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Trish](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/SUELGSWLAFMARMYV6QVITPITKM.jpg\")
Trish Gordon and her son, Brodie, after her second surgery in 2022 <\/p>\n
Ms Gordon said she wanted to keep her mind active and regain cognitive function, so she signed up for bridge lessons at the New Melville Bridge club in Edinburgh through the Scottish Bridge Union.<\/p>\n
\u201cI quickly became hooked,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt took memory, teamwork and a little bit of maths. Each week I felt a little bit sharper and a little bit more like myself again.\u201d<\/p>\n
After years of rehabilitation, and countless games of bridge, Ms Gordon returned to medicine in 2020 and currently works as a locum consultant across Fife and the Borders.<\/p>\n
Although she faced further setbacks when her tumour returned in 2022, and underwent radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment in 2024, Ms Gordon said she feels back to full health.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery day is a blessing and I still get so much from playing bridge,\u201d Ms Gordon said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a huge part of my social life and I try to get along to the club as often as I can. I enjoy learning new things \u2013 that\u2019s one of the things I love most about bridge.\u201d<\/p>\n
She continued: \u201cBridge gave me a challenge when I needed one most. It played a significant role in helping me get back to work and back to being myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Gordon\u2019s experience is backed up by recent research that found experienced bridge players showed advantages in memory-based tasks and delays age-related cognitive decline.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I was diagnosed, my biggest concern wasn\u2019t for me \u2013 it was for my son. I wanted to be there to watch him grow up. At the time I didn\u2019t know what the future would look like,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore than 10 years later, I\u2019ve outlived the original prognosis I was given, returned to the career I love and had the privilege of watching my son Brodie develop into an elite swimmer with his sights set on the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A Scottish hospital doctor who survived a brain tumour has said playing bridge aided her recovery and helped…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":592419,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[178274,1565,291881,43309,291882,111,139,69,147,11063,291883,1072,291884,1613],"class_list":["post-592418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-science","tag-brain-tumours","tag-bridge","tag-card-games","tag-edinburgh","tag-new-melville-bridge-club","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-science","tag-scotland","tag-scottish-bridge-union","tag-social","tag-trish-gordon","tag-uk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=592418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/592418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/592419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=592418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=592418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=592418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}