A GRANDMOTHER from Chelmsley Wood discovered she had a brain tumour after a routine eye test.
Susan Hetherington visited her local Specsavers after she noticed change in her vision.
Within days she was diagnosed with a low-grade meningioma tumour which was taken out during a pain-staking operation which she had been warned could cost her her eyesight or even her life.
Susan, a former teaching assistant, is now campaigning with the charity Brain Tumour Research and calling on the Government and the larger cancer charities to spend more on research into the disease.
According to the charity, brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, yet just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to the disease.
Susans surgery took place at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham and four days after her successful operation in November, Susan was sent home to recover.
She has been left with extreme fatigue and is now monitored with regular scans to check for regrowth of the tumour.
Susan has since joined Brain Tumour Research as a campaigner to help raise awareness of the lack of funding into research of the disease.
“My diagnosis has turned my world upside down, inside out and back to front – everything I had I feel like I have lost. I almost feel a sense of guilt because I have a low-grade tumour and I know that other people are living with it much worse.
“I want to shout my story from the rooftops as I feel that Specsavers saved my life, and I would encourage everyone to have a regular eye test. More needs to be done to raise awareness of brain tumours and we need to understand how and why they happen.”
Mel Tiley, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: “We are reminded that brain tumours are often indiscriminate and any grade of tumour can be devastating for a person and their loved ones.
“We’re delighted to have Susan join us as we campaign for better treatment options for people living with this disease as we work towards finding a cure.”
