Carrol Dobbie, from Corstorphine, near Edinburgh, is undergoing treatment for the two brain tumors, after receiving an emergency hospital referral following a routine eye test at Vision Express.
The 55-year-old had been experiencing mild headaches and pain in her left eye, but dismissed the symptoms, believing them to be down to her age, express.co.uk wrote.
It wasn’t until a visit to the optician for a routine eye test that optometrist Maddiha Mahmood raised concern and gave an emergency referral to Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion.
“Apart from the mild headaches, I wouldn’t have thought there was something wrong,” said Dobbie.
“People get headaches all the time, and I thought the pain in my left eye was normal for my age.”
“A check on my vision revealed pressure on the eye, which was then diagnosed as a tumor. I didn’t know a standard eye test could see things like that.”
The eye test initially detected just one tumor, but while under examination at the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion, a second brain tumor was detected.
“They found the second tumor as if by accident. It’s attached to my skull, but a neurosurgeon is scheduled to remove it by the end of the year,” said Dobbie.
“I always thought tumors would present obvious symptoms, but that wasn’t the case for me.”
“If it wasn’t for my routine eye test every two years, who knows when they would have been found.”
Dobbie is now backing Vision Express as it raises awareness of the importance of good eye health following World Sight Day on October 11.
Mahmood, the optometrist who referred Dobbie to hospital, said: “I’m so glad that upon the discovery and prompt referral, Carrol is now in the process of receiving treatment for both of the tumors.”
“An eye examination is invaluable for assessing visual problems, as well as any neurological symptoms, such as those which Carrol was experiencing.”
A brain tumor is a growth of cells in the brain that multiplies in an abnormal, uncontrollable way.
Brain tumours can be both cancerous and non-cancerous.
Symptoms of a brain tumor vary depending on the exact part of the brain affected, and can include severe, persistent headaches, and persistent nausea, vomiting and drowsiness.
Other symptoms can include seizures, mental or behavioral changes, vision or speech problems, and progressive weakness or paralysis on one side of the body.
Sometimes symptoms may not appear to begin with, or may only develop very slowly over time.
The NHS advises seeing a doctor if any of those symptoms are present, especially if you have a severe and persistent headache.
“You may not have a brain tumor but these types of symptoms should be checked out,” the NHS said.
Source:Irandaily