A woman who was told she had seven brain tumors after suffering from blurred vision said it is like having a “ticking time bomb” in her head.
Emma Hollick, 41, started experiencing blurred vision and booked an appointment with her GP.
Doctors thought Emma was suffering from a virus, but her symptoms continued to worsen, and she lost the feeling in the left side of her face.
She started to experience headaches and went to see her optician, who flagged concerns to her GP – but there was an 18-week wait for a referral.
Desperate, Emma went to A&E, where she had an MRI scan, which revealed she had multiple meningiomas.
A month later, Emma had an operation to remove one of the tumors – which was successful – as it was pressing on her optic nerve.
Now, she has yearly MRI scans to monitor the tumors and said it is like having a “ticking time bomb”.
Emma, a retail worker from Lowestoft, Suffolk, said: “A brain tumor diagnosis was the last thing I was expecting.
“I really did not see that coming. Looking back, I was so ill.
“I was trying to work and get on with normal things, but my headaches were so bad.
“When I got the diagnosis, I was terrified, you do research and you are always scared.
“It is like walking around with a ticking time bomb – you don’t know when someone is going to pull the pin and turn your life around.”
In February 2022, Emma was feeling exhausted but put it down to working the evening shift at a petrol station.
She then started to experience blurred vision in her left eye.
Emma said: “My symptoms started with the loss of vision in one eye.
“It was all very gradual to start with.
“Then I noticed I had no sensation down the left side of my face – from my eyebrow to my chin.
“I also had bad headaches and was very fatigued, but I was working nights in a petrol station and assumed I wasn’t coping with the shift pattern very well.
“I just thought I’ve been overdoing things.
“When the symptoms first started, the GP wasn’t too concerned.
“But things got worse instead of better, and I started to get really worried despite being told by medics that nothing was seriously wrong.”
Between February and May of that year, she visited her GP five or six times, called 111 twice, and went to her local A&E department twice before finding out what was wrong.
In April 2022, Emma was so worried that she went to her optician, who flagged concerns to her GP.
She was referred for a neurology appointment but was told there would be an 18-week wait.
Her symptoms then worsened, and she experienced headaches and a persistent watery eye, so she went to A&E at James Paget University Hospital, Great Yarmouth, for a second time.
Emma said: “My mental health was on the floor.
“I spent the whole day at the eye clinic undergoing tests.
“They thought I might have MS, so they booked me in for an MRI scan on May 31.”
On June 8, 2022, Emma was in the ASDA car park with her children when her GP called her.
The GP explained how she didn’t have MS, but she had seven meningioma tumours, and one was pressing on her optic nerve and would need to be removed.
Emma said: “When you get told something like that, your whole world stops. It was completely terrifying.
“Two of my children were in the car with me, and they heard it too.
“I got back into the car, and my children heard parts of the conversation.
“I spoke to them, and one was screaming in the back of the car, and my other child was sitting sobbing in the passenger seat.
“I was shell-shocked. I had a moment where the world was spinning around me at 110mph.”
Exactly one month later, Emma had a craniotomy – a surgical procedure that involves removing a portion of the skull to access the brain – to remove the tumor pressing on her optic nerve.
The surgery was successful, and Emma is on a “watch and wait” regime where she has an MRI scan every 12 months to monitor the six remaining tumors.
She said: “Living with multiple meningiomas has been really hard.
“I suffer from fatigue due to the tumors, so everyday life is more tiring for me.
“The mental effects of living with them and the worry that comes with it is a lot to process – it’s like someone’s pressed pause on your life.
“Every year I have brain scans to check for any growth, and the anxiety builds when you know the scan is due.
“Then you have the long wait for the results.
“It’s exhausting constantly worrying if the tumors have grown or if I will need more treatment.”
The Brain Tumour Charity has awarded a £225,000 Future Leaders grant to fund research that will investigate the origin of meningiomas – the type of brain tumor that Emma has.
Meningiomas are the most common type of adult brain tumor, accounting for 30% of all brain tumors diagnosed.
Dr. Simon Newman, Chief Scientific Officer at The Brain Tumour Charity, said, “Improving our understanding of meningiomas is an important step to improving diagnosis and treatment for people facing this difficult diagnosis.
“This project has the potential to pave the way for more targeted therapies in the future, which will help people live longer and better lives.
“Funding through our Future Leader program ensures that the best and brightest minds are supported to help us accelerate a cure for brain tumors.”
Produced in association with SWNS Talker
