The tumour I had and never told i had one

I felt unwell for years keep going back to the doctors keep saying i have headaches,feeling dizzy even lying down the room would spin and then losing my balance in a way that i was going to the right. I kept going from 2014 when I  had an MRI scan on my neck, as I was told I probably had a disc protrusion. Earlier, I had an operation on my back with the same problem and that it was traveling up towards my neck.

After I had the scan, I went back to the doctor for the result and was told there was nothing they could do, as it wasn’t that bad yet and I was told to wait and see how it went. This got worse over the 4 years, but the doctor just kept giving me tablets as he said it was an ear infection(tinnitus)… as the tablets never worked, I went back and back and got to the stage that he turned round and said it was either age, or the tablets i was on causing me to lose my balance etc…

Eventually, the doctor arranged for a normal MRI to put my mind at rest but as I was getting worse, I went back to the doctors to see if the scan could be moved forward but they said it couldn’t and I had to wait.

It was 8 weeks until I had the scan and it was on a Saturday and by Monday I had a call from the doctors saying they had found a tumour, so as i waited to hear from the consultant for an appointment, only to find that they had sent me to the wrong one. When I saw the consultant he said this needed to be operated on asap but couldn’t get to see the correct consultant for another 4 weeks.

My wife noticed I was getting worse with my dizzyness getting worse and that my mouth started to droop and forgetting things. So she went to the doctors and saw the office manager and explained the problems and that she thought I needed to be seen as I was really ill.

They called the hospital and was told to go straight to A and E.

When  I arrived, they looked at me and said “,do not move from the bed,” as it was really urgent and was to be operated on the next morning.
I had the operation and everything seems okay, but what I do not understand is why didn’t the hospital and doctors  tell me I had the tumour when they all knew 4 years ago.

If it wasnt done the next day i would not be here now…

Opinions expressed within this story belong solely to the author and do not reflect the views or opinions of the National Brain Tumor Society.