A woman suffering from a life-threatening brain tumour was initially diagnosed as having symptoms of the menopause.
Lynn O'Toole first began to feel unwell early in 2020, but when she visited her GP she was initially put on a course of HRT as it was thought she was undergoing "the change."
But when her condition continued to deteriorate, she was referred to hospital for an MRI scan which revealed she had a 5cm brain tumour which would kill her if it wasn't operated on immediately.
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Lynn, 51, from Seacombe in Wirral, said: "I had been feeling unwell a couple of months before the surgery, but when I went to the doctor's they thought it had something to do with the menopause and I was put on a course of HRT.
"It was only later when I had an MRI scan that it revealed a very large brain tumour. I had to have surgery immediately, irrespective of the covid pandemic which was then raging, or I would have died."
The surgery at The Walton Centre successfully removed a large portion of the tumour, but not all of it. Lynn has also been left severely visually impaired, with no vision at all in her left eye and only a third in her right.
She said: "I can't distinguish whether it's day or night and it's like everything is by candlelight. That's the only thing I can see."
Because of her disability, Lynn had to give up her career in the care industry, where she had worked for 30-odd years. But she can still enjoy being with her five grandchildren, all of whom are under the age of four.
She said: "I am trying to adapt to not working, it was very hard at the time. But my grandchildren keep me going. It's amazing to see them, though I don't see them as I'd like to."
Lynn will be joining others to take part in the Walk of Hope for Brain Tumour Research this Saturday (September 24) to help them get closer to finding a cure for brain tumours, the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40. More details and how to donate can be found here.
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