A foster mum who has raised 20 kids says her brain tumour was detected after she paid just £10 at an opticians - for a simple field vision test. Tina Papworth, 53, popped for an eye test last year – which turned out to be potentially life-saving.
The foster mum, from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, went for a routine eye test at her local Boots opticians. She was offered a field vision test for an additional £10 and agreed - and the test showed an abnormality which led to an eye clinic referral.
At first she was prescribed drops for suspected glaucoma but she returned in March this year and was referred for an MRI - which revealed a large brain tumour. Now Tina awaits a craniotomy in June but is feeling positive ahead of the surgery as it was spotted early enough to be operable.
The mum, who has fostered 18 children and has two biological children: "When I was diagnosed, I was sitting down at the time and had tears running down my face. It was like a wave came over me and I just shut down. But I'm a glass half full kind of girl; I think it’s really important to keep a positive mindset. I want my children to see me as a positive, brave person. I’m not crumbling to bits. I have my moments, obviously, but I’m going to fight this.
She added: “The best £10 I ever spent was at Boots Opticians, in Southend High Street."
Tina told how she didn't think she had anything wrong with her eyes at the time of her first eye test, but thought 'why not?' and agreed to the £10 field vision test. So she was shocked when an eye abnormality was picked up and she was given a referral to an eye clinic at Southend University Hospital.
That appointment was delayed for about a year because of COVID-19, and when it did go ahead, she was prescribed drops for suspected glaucoma. However, she returned in March this year and was told her eyes had deteriorated when she struggled with the same field vision test.
She explained: "They decided to send me for an MRI to check that nothing was pressing on my optic nerve. I kept thinking they were wasting NHS resources on me and wondering why they were doing it, but now I’m glad they did.”
On April 4, Tina was diagnosed with a brain tumour and told how she was "knocked for six". She recalled going on a holiday to Turkey shortly after and spent the whole trip in "some kind of fog" due to the shock.
Tina said: “The consultant said they’d found a large tumour that was in a tricky, deep place but that they were going to drill into my skull to remove it. I was sitting down at the time and had tears running down my face. It was like a wave came over me and I just shut down. Deep, tricky and large aren’t three words you want to hear associated with your brain tumour.”
But Tina opted to look on the bright side as she awaits her craniotomy, which is due to go ahead in mid-June. She is working with the charity Brain Tumour Research to share her story.
She said: “I’m a glass half full kind of girl; I’m now looking at my tumour as something positive. They’ve found it early, it’s operable and taking it out could actually help improve my memory, mood and eyesight. We’re only on this planet for a limited time anyway; no one makes it out alive so I’m not going to let my brain tumour sadden my days here. I’m going to be happy despite it and I want my children to see that so they choose happiness as well.”
Charlie Allsebrook, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: “We were really sorry to hear about Tina’s recent diagnosis. She is not alone, though. Sadly, someone is diagnosed with a brain tumour in England every two hours and less than 20% of those will survive beyond five years compared with an average of 50% across all cancers. We commend Tina for sharing her story to help raise awareness and wish her the best of luck with her upcoming surgery.”
Brave Tina added: “There’s not enough awareness so, when you hear the words ‘brain tumour’, you fall to bits, even though in some cases you needn’t. I’m one of the lucky ones because mine is low-grade and operable, but I do feel quite guilty about not having a worse one. I am keen to do what I can to help others cope with their diagnoses better than I did – if I can do that it’ll make it worthwhile.”
