I had brain tumour surgery like Davina McCall – the scar doesn’t bother me but I was terrified I’d never be the same
A mum who underwent the same surgery Davina McCall to remove a brain tumour says she was terrified she would wake up changed.
But Laura Taylor, 34, says her scars mark a “new chapter” of her life.
Laura had a four-hour operation, a craniotomy, just a couple of weeks ago.
She said: “It was really scary. What if I never see my son again?
“What if I wake up and my brain is not there? I’m not going to be me.
“I’d joined Facebook groups and family members had said they’d never been the same again.”
People can have long-term problems after brain surgery, such as difficulty walking or speaking, weakness in a limb, feeling tired or behavioural changes, according to Cancer Research UK.
But Laura says she’s felt “empowered” since coming around from the surgery and “happier than ever”.
The mum feels she can empathise with howDavina McCallmust be feeling – after it was announced she’s undergone the same surgery to remove a rare benign tumour.
Laura, a writer, from Hartford, Cheshire, said: “Reading about Davina I can relate to what she is feeling.
“It seems she’s in the same situation as I was.”
Davina had a 14mm growth removed from her brain during a craniotomy last week after being diagnosed with a rare colloid cyst.
Davina McCall hinted at secret brain tumour battle in days before operation and broke down in tears
A colloid cyst is a benign tumour filled with fluid that tends to grow in a central area of the brain called the third ventricle.
Laura was diagnosed with ameningiomaeight years ago when she started going blind in her right eye.
Meningiomas are tumours that start in the layers of tissue – called meninges – that cover the brain and spinal cord.
Doctors weren’t worried about it growing but Laura had check ups every year to monitor it.
Laura – who is mum to two-year-old Arley – was two months away from her wedding when she got the unexpectednewsthat her tumour had grown by 8mm in August 2024.
Doctors said she needed to have it removed – but the operation was put on hold until November 2024, after she tied the knot with her husband, Jamie Taylor, 35, a joiner, in October.
Most meningiomas aren’t cancerous.
Some won’t cause symptoms at all, but they can trigger sight loss, limb weakness, hearing loss and fits and as they grow.
Laura first had symptoms from her tumour eight years ago.
She said: “I started going blind in my right eye. It started off as a dark circle and it would go all fuzzy.”
Doctors initially thought she had a migraine but after going for a scan they spotted an “inflammation” on Laura’s brain, which led to her diagnosis.
Laura said: “It’s the best kind of brain tumour a girl can wish for.
“They said it will likely never grow.”
For the last eight years Laura has been having yearly scans to check the growth and nearly didn’t go to this years check-up.
She said: “I was struggling to get childcare. I wasn’t going to go for it.
“Something in me was like ‘I need to go’.”
Laura hadn’t had any “visual disturbances” for years so was shocked when her doctor told her the tumour had grown.
She said: “He said ‘I’m really sorry it’s grown quite a lot – by 8mm. We can’t leave it in’.”
The tumour was getting close to a major blood vessel in her brain – and if it had been allowed to carry on growing it would eventually have caused stroke symptoms.
‘Empowering’
Laura was able to get the operation postponed until after her wedding and honeymoon.
Once she came back she was taken into the surgery on November 7, 2024.
Laura feels she has a new perspective on life – despite still being in recovery.
The mum said: “It’s the most I ever been knocked off my feet.
“I feel so empowered.
“You feel you can never stress about anything ever again – it’s not worth it.
“I’m the happiest I have ever been.
“I can’t explain how beautiful life looks, smells and feels.
“The British weather is so gloomy but it looked like the most beautifuloilpainting.
“The hospital food tastes Michelin-star.”
She came home from hospital on November 13 and is not up on her feet yet.
But she doesn’t care about the scar on her head.
She said: “I’m grateful to the doctors. It was found early.
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“I’m in a lucky position nothing had been damaged.
“I’ve got this new perspective on life. It’s the marking of a new chapter.”
What are meningiomas?
Meningiomas are a type of brain tumour that start in the layers of tissue that cover and protect the brain and the spinal cord, called meninges.
Most meningiomas are non-cancerous, slow growing tumours. But rarely some can be faster-growing.
They may not cause any obvious symptoms and are often found during tests for something else.
Tumours that do not cause symptoms may not need any treatment.
As a tumour grows, it can press on nearby areas of the brain. This can cause symptoms because it stops that part of the brain from working normally.
Some symptoms can also happen because the tumour causes a build-up of pressure inside the skull.
Symptoms can depend on the size and position of the tumour. They also depend on how slowly or quickly it grows.
They may develop suddenly, or slowly over months or years.
Symptoms may include:
- Headaches
- Problems with balance
- Weakness in an arm or leg
- Change in your eyesight
- Changes in speech or swallowing
- Changes in personality
- Being confused
- Seizures
- Vomiting
Source:Macmillan Cancer Support
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