A mother was diagnosed with a brain tumor after her symptoms were attributed to menopause.
Karen Griffiths, 60, from Eastbourne, Sussex, sought help in 2018 when she started hearing a pounding sound that kept pace with her heartbeat.
Around the same time, she also began experiencing morning headaches, difficulty speaking, and losing her train of thought.
Mrs Griffiths, an insurance coach, repeatedly visited her GP but was left feeling like she was a 'time waster'.
One doctor claimed that her symptoms were most likely due to menopause, which she was going through at the time.
Karen Griffiths, 60, started hearing her own heart beating in her ear because a lump in her brain was pressing on a large vein
In April 2021, when the 'knocking' in her ear became so loud it would wake her up at night, Ms Griffiths was referred to an ear, nose and throat consultant.
She was sent to Eastbourne District General Hospital for an MRI scan, which revealed she had a benign brain tumour.
Recalling her difficulties in getting the diagnosis, Mrs Griffiths said: 'I suffered from symptoms for more than three years and it gradually got worse.
'In addition, I was going through menopause, and it is well known that this can cause headaches, brain fog and difficulty concentrating.' All three can be signs of a brain tumor.
Ms Griffiths claimed that 'one of the main things that was overlooked' was the headache that came on when she woke up – a common phenomenon in brain tumor patients.
On top of the throbbing pain, Ms Griffith said her pulsating tinnitus – the sound she heard in her ear – “was getting progressively worse, but I was told not to worry about it.”
She said: 'My experience is that they (doctors) all too easily ignore these and instead blame them for something else.
'My symptoms were ignored for a long time, even though things continued to get worse. I ended up feeling like a time waster.
“In retrospect, it was quite dangerous.”
About 16,000 Britons are diagnosed with a brain tumor every year, or one about every two hours.
Some are cancerous. Others, like Mrs. Griffiths, are benign.
Discussing her scan in April 2021, Ms Griffiths said: 'The consultation I had was more in-depth. I noticed that he really listened to what I said.
“I saw his face cloud up as I explained that the unilateral pulsatile tinnitus was so loud it woke me up.”
Scans showed that the lump in her brain was pressing on the superior sagittal sinus vein, which runs along the upper part of the brain and travels from an area near your nasal cavity to the back of your skull.
Pressure on the vein can cause a form of tinnitus.
After her scan, Mrs Griffiths was referred to a neurosurgeon who advised her about the risks of the tumor.
She added: 'I understood early on that the tumor was a benign meningioma (tumours that start in the layers of tissue covering the brain and spinal cord) – but that the tumor was attached to a large vein that had been pushed to one side by it . .
'The neurosurgeon advised me about the risks, including life-threatening risks.
“At first I didn't believe in it, so I threw myself into my work as if nothing had happened.”
As well as receiving her own diagnosis, Mrs Griffiths discovered the same week that her mother, Jillian Stevens, 83, was dying of cancer.
Not wanting to add to her family's pain, Mrs Griffiths kept her own tumor a secret.
In March 2022, Ms Griffiths underwent surgery to remove her tumor at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London. But surgeons were unable to remove the entire tumor, meaning there is a risk of it growing back
In March 2022, Ms Griffiths underwent surgery to remove her tumor at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London.
Surgeons were unable to remove the entire tumor, leaving it at risk of growing back.
Even after the surgery, she still experiences nighttime seizures due to the location of the tumor that remains.
Now Mrs Griffiths has regular MRI scans to monitor her condition.
“It was very difficult, the after-effects of the operation were difficult to deal with,” Ms Griffiths said.
'My speech, memory and balance are gradually improving. I haven't been back to work since September 2021.
'My employers have been fantastic and I hope to be able to return to work soon.'