Mum diagnosed with two brain tumours after 'being sent home from hospital with a leaflet'

A mum diagnosed with two brain tumours had previously been 'sent home from hospital with a leaflet'.

Heather Sells was fit and healthy when she suddenly couldn’t stand during her fitness classes.

The fitness instructor, 46, had vision problems and blinding headaches and was rushed to hospital after a seizure. She said she was initially sent home with a leaflet and no scans.

It wasn’t until a second seizure later that month that an MRI scan revealed two brain tumours. Heather was diagnosed with meningioma - the most common form of adult primary brain tumour which develops in the membrane that surrounds the brain and spinal cord.

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She had emergency surgery to remove the larger tumour, but the doctors were happy to leave the second tumour under active surveillance.

Heather, from Clitheroe in Lancashire, said: “I know first-hand how devastating this disease is. Not just for those diagnosed but for everyone around them."

Heather's symptoms started in June 2020 and she was diagnosed the following month after her second seizure. During her time in hospital, Heather said she 'was terrified'.

She said: “Because of COVID-19 restrictions, my husband couldn’t come into the hospital, and I was on my own in a small side room for five hours before surgery. They removed the first tumour. But the second one remains under active surveillance.

“Living scan-to-scan with a brain tumour that could turn aggressive at a flick of a switch is a nightmare.”

The survival rate of meningioma is usually good - on average 85 to 95 per cent for grade I meningiomas for the first five years. But can be lowered to around 25 to 30 per cent if the meningiomas progress to grade III.

Heather has sadly closed her fitness business - including online classes - as she’s not able to return to work. But instead she dedicates her time to raising funds and awareness through charity challenges, supported by her husband Jack and sons Elliott and Hunter.

Heather has already raised more than £8,000 for the charity Brain Tumour Research - and aims to raise more this coming month by taking on the 99 Miles in November challenge.

She said: “My family and friends have been with me for the previous challenges I did, and it was amazing. I’m hoping this new adventure will bring our total raised to over £10,000, which we’re all incredibly proud of, and hope it helps in finding a cure.”

Ashley McWilliams, Community Development Manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: “Heather’s journey is a powerful reminder of the resilience within our community. Her dedication to raising funds for research, despite her own health challenges, is deeply inspiring.

“Every step Heather takes supports the 16,000 people diagnosed with a brain tumour each year in the UK.”

The Brain Tumour Research charity is the driving force behind the call for a national annual spend of £35 million in order to improve survival rates and patient outcomes in line with other cancers such as breast cancer and leukaemia.

To support Heather’s fundraising efforts, visit: https://www.facebook.com/donate/512013045141160/512013071807824/