I thought I was just drunk when I fell over on a night out – but the reality was devastating
WAKING up with an egg-shaped lump on her head, Jenni Richmond immediately began to regret the extra glass of wine she had drunk the previous night.
The mum-of-one had been enjoying a sunny afternoon of drinking with her friends before popping into her neighbour’s party for a few more.
But when the customer analyst, then 45, crossed the street to head back to her home in Chertsey, Surrey, she tripped and banged her head on the pavement.
Putting it down to the wine, Jenni dusted herself down and embarrassingly hurried inside hoping she had gotten away without anyone seeing.
“I really didn’t want to go to hospital as it was late, so I just went to bed feeling a bit sorry for myself,” she remembers.
It was only when a huge lump appeared on her head the next morning that her husband Dave insisted she had it checked out.
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Jenni says: “He was adamant that I went to see a doctor and check it wasn’t a concussion.
“I just thought I had a small hangover, a bit of a headache, and other than the big lump on my head, it was nothing too serious.
“In fact, I took my daughter to a party first, then went to A&E at St Peter’s Hospital - mainly to keep my husband happy.
“But as it turned out, I am so glad I did.”
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Doctors sent Jenni for a CT scan as a precaution and discovered a lump on her brain, which was later confirmed to be a low-grade meningioma.
“It was a complete shock. I had absolutely no idea – I had no known symptoms whatsoever,” she says.
Jenni was referred to St George’s Hospital in south London and put on a watch-and-wait treatment programme following the diagnosis in 2015.
The location of the tumour would have made it difficult to operate at the time and radiotherapy wasn’t thought to be worth the level of risk it came with at that stage.
Over the five years that followed, Jenni, who is now 52, had scans annually to monitor for any changes to the tumour.
It was during the pandemic in July 2020 that Jenni was referred to The Royal Marsden Hospital for possible radiotherapy.
However, the neurology team there thought surgery was the best option.
But due to the pandemic, Jenni’s operation was cancelled twice.
The first was the night before she was due to be operated on because of an emergency, while the second was cancelled due to a lack of available beds in ICU - despite Jenni already being in hospital.
This resulted in her operation being delayed for another five weeks.
Jenni and her family also had to self-isolate twice which meant home-schooling their 11-year-old daughter Iona.
Jenni said: “I was under no pressure to have the surgery but we all thought it was the right thing to do at the time.
“My surgeon was brilliant and so relaxed, which helped me to not feel stressed about it all too.”
“The self-isolation was difficult. I had to try and keep everything going at home as well as try not to spend too much time thinking about what was about to happen to me,” she says.
'WORST CASE SCENARIOS'
“The doctors couldn’t tell me how I may feel afterwards – just the worst-case scenarios – but I didn’t want to know all the details.
“However, I was fine after my surgery.
“After a brief stay in ICU and a standard ward, I was back home in a couple of days.
“I did feel quite rushed as I know the medical teams were keen to get me out because of the pandemic.
“But I felt quite vulnerable having just had brain surgery and then being back home so fast.
“I think I would have been happier if I even had just one more night in the hospital.
“I was given a level of choice over my treatment options but I think there was also some hesitancy in what was the best treatment option for me.
“I would have preferred to have just been told what needed to be done and for them to just get on with it.”
The surgery successfully removed all of the tumour - which the medical team think may have been growing for a number of years - even before Jenni’s fall in 2015.
She recovered well and quickly from her surgery and just a few weeks later, she was even able to go climbing in the Lake District.
The downside has been not being able to drive, but Jenni is hopeful that she will get her licence back in January.
And in the meantime, she is making the most of not having to be the designated driver on nights out.
THE ALL CLEAR
Jenni will now have to have scans every year to monitor her brain for any signs of the tumour coming back, but at the most recent one in October, it came back clear.
She says she feels fortunate that her tumour was discovered by chance before it had an impact on her overall health.
Jenni says: “I often wonder whether, when or how I would have known about the tumour if I hadn’t had that fall.
“I don’t know if I did have any real symptoms - there were times when I felt tired, or I had a headache or I couldn’t remember something, but it wasn’t significant and that sort of thing happens to so many of us.
“I was lucky the tumour was discovered accidentally.
“Maybe if it hadn’t been discovered until I had symptoms then it could have been a different story for me.
“In fact, I felt a bit of a fraud. I had brain surgery but I hadn’t been unwell with it. Aside from the scab on my head, I felt fine.”
What is a meningioma brain tumour?
A meningioma (pronounced men-in-gee-oh-ma) is a tumour that grows in the set of three membranes just inside the skull, called the meninges.
The function of these membranes is to cover and protect the brain and spinal cord.
Meningiomas can be grades 1, 2 or 3, but there are no grade 4 meningiomas.
They are usually:
- low grade tumours
- slow growing
- unlikely to spread
However, some types of meningiomas don’t behave as expected and can grow quicker than others.
What are the symptoms of meningioma?
Meningiomas can often be present in the brain without causing any symptoms for many years.
Symptoms usually begin gradually, as they gently push and compress brain tissue, rather than invading it.
As with other brain tumours, the symptoms will depend on which part of the brain is affected.
How are meningiomas treated?
Meningiomas are normally treated according to their grade, but their location, size, and the symptoms you're having will also affect which treatment you're offered.
People who are diagnosed with a grade 1 meningioma are often put on active monitoring treatment, with surgery and radiotherapy offered at a later date, if needed.
Grade 2 and 3 meningiomas usually have surgery, then radiotherapy.
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Jenni was told about by her medical team but she said it would be beneficial for her as well as other people if services were flagged up right at the beginning.
She adds: “I wasn’t told about the organisation when I was diagnosed which may have helped to answer all of the questions we had at the time.
“It was tricky to keep everything going for my family and the expert advice could have helped with that.
“My daughter was so young when I was diagnosed and she thought I was going to die.
“Understandably, she had a lot of anxiety around that and I felt very guilty.
“Fortunately, she’s great now - we’re both pleased to be back to our regular routine and doing the simple things, like the school run.”
Jenni is sharing her story in support of The Brain Tumour Charity, as part of Brain Tumour Awareness Month this month.
Alex Lochrane, Chief Executive at The Brain Tumour Charity, said: “This Brain Tumour Awareness Month is a really important opportunity to highlight the need for progress on brain tumours and that we all stand united in defeating the devastation they cause.
“We are so grateful to Jenni that she is sharing her story to help raise awareness of the disease.
“Like her, many parents can find it difficult to know what to tell their children when they have been diagnosed with a brain tumour or to manage their fears.
“Our Children and Families team offer specialised support and we have a series of animations aimed at children to help them understand a parent’s diagnosis and treatment in an age-appropriate way.
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“While Jenni didn’t have any significant symptoms before her diagnosis, for others the common brain tumour symptoms can include headaches, nausea and changes to vision or cognition.
“Brain tumours are relatively rare, but it is important to recognise the possible signs, and if symptoms are persistent or you have several of them, we’d encourage you to see your GP.”
