A woman has revealed the first warning sign she had before doctors discovered two tumours in her brain.
Kaylee Crawshaw, 33, said she was suffering from excruciating headaches, which doctors initially thought could be a product of a trapped nerve.
However, a subsequent CT scan showed two potentially cancerous tumours on her brain, something Crawshaw said made her brain “look like a fruit bowl”.
The tumours measured 5cm and 1cm respectively, and Crawshaw described them as looking like a lime and a gooseberry.
The mother of two from Weymouth, Dorset, had the larger tumour removed last week, and is now waiting to hear if she will need any further treatment following a biopsy.
“It was like I had a fruit bowl in my head,” Crawshaw explained. “The larger one measured 5cm, about the size of a lime. That was what surgeons removed. I nicknamed it Mike.
“The second one measured about 1cm, which is about the size of a gooseberry. I nicknamed that one Tilly the tiny.”
Crawshaw added that she’s had no side effects post-surgery “aside from half of my head being shaved”.
“I decided to shave it before surgery as my hair is my pride and joy. I donated it to The Little Princess Trust,” Crawshaw explained.
“I now get tired easily, but I have my eyesight which is something doctors warned could be impacted.
“Whatever the results of my tumour are, we will face them together as a family.”
Mel Tiley, of Brain Tumour Research said: “We wish Kaylee all the best during her recovery from surgery.
“Her story reminds us that brain tumours are indiscriminate and can affect anyone at any time.”
Brain Tumour Research is calling on the Government and larger cancer charities to invest more on research into brain tumours to speed up new treatment.
The charity says one in three people know someone affected by a brain tumour and that they kill more under the age of 40 than any other cancer.
Yet, historically, just one per cent of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to brain tumours, it added.
Additional reporting by SWNS
