A mum attributed her hot flushes and 'tingling sensation' to the menopause before scans showed the truth. Kerry Brown, 54, started experiencing hot flushes and 'tingling sensations' in 2017 that she presumed were hormonal and linked to the menopause.

However, the mum-of-one's symptoms soon worsened to severe fatigue and slurred speech over a two-year period. When her eyesight started to deteriorate, she visited an optician and was referred for an MRI scan after they detected swelling behind her eye.

The scan uncovered four brain tumours requiring surgical removal in July 2019. However, during that procedure, medics discovered 10 tumours in total - five of which were excised while the remaining ones were placed under active surveillance.

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She has continued to experience seizures intermittently and lost sight in one eye in the years afterwards, owing to one of the tumours pressing on her optic nerve. At a recent follow-up consultation, Kerry was informed two of the tumours had begun to re-grow and she is undergoing radiotherapy as a consequence.

Kerry, a production manager from Hull, said: "Looking back, the first signs were hot flushes and a warm, tingling sensation that would pass through my body. I thought it was just the menopause, but then I'd go pale, start slurring my words and feel overwhelmingly tired. I didn't think it was anything serious.

"I was having these episodes for a couple of years. Then I noticed what felt like a thumbprint over the vision in my right eye." It turned out that the 'hot flushes' Kerry had attributed to menopause were in fact seizures. A Specsavers optician referred Kerry to hospital after spotting swelling behind her eye. Following an MRI scan, she received a phone call days later requesting her urgent presence at the hospital.

She recalled: "I remember walking in and seeing pictures of brains on the wall and thinking 'this can't be good'. The consultant asked whether I'd been having headaches and if I could walk upstairs, before explaining they had identified four brain tumours. I was completely stunned. My partner, Gary, was with me and thankfully he stayed calm."

Although the tumours were low-grade, two of them were larger than two centimetres and required surgical removal.

Kerry said: "When I woke up after the surgery, they told me they hadn't found four tumours – they'd found 10. I remember joking 'every time I speak to you, you find more' - but inside, I was terrified.

"I spent about five days in hospital and the tumours were confirmed as meningiomas – the most common form of adult primary brain tumour. I continued to have seizures and was placed on steroids and anti-seizure medication.

"One of the biggest impacts was on my sight because the tumour at the front of my head had been pressing on my optic nerve. They hoped that removing it would release the pressure, but it didn't. The nerve continued to die, and I'm now blind in my right eye. I had to go through the DVLA process again just to be allowed to drive with one eye."

Kerry is now raising funds for Brain Tumour Research to boost awareness of the condition and spotlight the severe lack of research funding.

She explained: "Knowing how underfunded research into brain tumours is, and having experienced this first-hand, really motivated me. I know what it's like to go through this. I've lived it. If sharing my story helps raise awareness or helps someone else feel less alone, then it's worth it."

Ashley McWilliams, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: "Kerry's experience highlights how symptoms of a brain tumour can be mistaken for more common conditions, leading to delays in diagnosis. Stories like Kerry's remind us why this work is so urgently needed."