A mum who thought her medication was making her unwell died just six weeks after receiving a terminal cancer diagnosis.
Marion Greenwood, 71, was diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumour in September after complaining of dizziness and feeling generally unwell.
Her daughter Lisa Harrison, 47, from Willington in Derbyshire, said the family thought her dizzy spells were due to her medication, DerbyshireLive reports.
Lisa said: “You know, we thought it was down to high blood pressure tablets, you don’t think when you feel dizzy that it’s a brain tumour, so it’s just a matter of going through the motions with it.
“Things started to happen quite quickly with the small droop of the mouth and then we thought she’d had a stroke.
"Then it wasn’t until she went into the hospital, you know my dad rang for 999 after the paramedics had been there the night before and then a scan showed a mass on the brain.
“Every week we lost some more of mum, it went from there to losing one side of her mobility, so every weekend there was something different that had happened.”
On September 20, Marion was referred to the neurology unit at Queen’s Medical Centre (QMC) in Nottingham and had another MRI scan.
She underwent a biopsy a few days later but by then, Marion was unable to move on her own and she lost her peripheral vision.
On October 1, she received the results of a biopsy which showed she had a grade 4 glioblastoma multiforme (GBM).
Marion passed away on November 12, peacefully at home.
Her daughter said she would be greatly missed by their entire family, particularly for her brother Jason, 50, who was suffering from Covid-19 while his mother was in hospital.
He was prevented from seeing her while she was able to communicate properly, Lisa said.
She said: “My brother had Covid while she was in hospital so he couldn’t go and see her which was really hard because he wanted to see her obviously.
"We knew time was ticking on, but he never really got to see her when she was actually in a better state of mind and being able to talk and stuff.
“He managed to see her towards the end of her losing her speech, which was a bit upsetting really, and that he didn’t get to spend those vital days with her because he got Covid.
“But every day was a special day, you know. We had to take it all as it came and be thankful for that day, that we had her for another day extra.”
Lisa has now turned her attention to fundraising for brain tumour research.
She claims that only one percent of funds for cancer research are targeted at finding a cure for brain tumours.
She said: “2022 is going to be a very busy year.
“We need to get the awareness out there to help others because it needs to be brought to the forefront and to help other people.
“It’s not just the elderly that get brain tumours, it’s little children, it can happen to everybody, it’s indiscriminate.
“The tumour that mum had started in the brain, and stayed in the brain, but the rest of her body was cancer-free.”
You can access Lisa's fundraiser for brain tumour research here.
Matthew Price, community development manager for Brain Tumour Research, said: “Our sincere condolences go to Lisa, Jason and Peter, and to all those who knew and loved Marion.
“Less than 20% of those diagnosed with a brain tumour survive beyond five years compared with an average of 50% across all cancers.
"Unlike most other cancers, incidences of and deaths from brain tumours are rising.
“We are very grateful for Lisa’s support and are thinking of her and all of Marion’s loved ones at this very difficult time.”
