Girl, 17, died after doctors ‘mistook’ brain tumour for exam worries – amid fears cancers are being confused with teens’ mood swings
Doctors initially thought Emma Sim's headaches were triggered by school pressures and it was only after an MRI scan months later that she was given the devastating diagnosis
A 17-YEAR-OLD girl died after doctors 'mistook' the early signs of a brain tumour for exam worries -amid fears cancers are being confused with teenage mood swings.
Emma Sims was 15 when she started to complain she couldn't see the board at school properly before suffering from headaches and sickness.
Doctors told mum Heather, 47, and dad Graeme, 49, from Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, that her migraines were being "triggered by exam stress and spending hours on the computer".
Mrs Sim, who also has another daughter Ellie, said the couple took Emma to see a GP three times, adding: “Once when Graeme took her, he was even told: ‘It’s not a brain tumour, you know.’”
It was only a few months later - in March 2014 - when Emma's eye turned in that she was rushed to hospital and the tumour was discovered.
She had emergency surgery to relieve pressure on her brain and in a second operation the following day, surgeons managed to remove most of her tumour.
Biopsy tests revealed it was a rare form of the disease and she had six weeks of combined radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
After a four-week break, she then had a further 12 cycles of chemo together with a study drug.
Mrs Sim said: "Never once did we hear Emma complain.
“She was the one who kept us going and made us laugh with her mantra: ‘Kill a tumour with humour.’”
In May 2015, Emma had a routine MRI scan and the family were given the devastating news that Emma’s tumour had grown into her brain stem, and was inoperable.
And there's fears Emma's family are not alone as figures from the charity show the average diagnosis for teenagers takes 10 weeks, which almost a month longer than in other age groups.
Professor David Walker, co-director of the Children’s Brain Tumour Research Centre, said: “Since developing and launching HeadSmart, we have made real progress, halving the time it takes on average to diagnose a child with a brain tumour across the UK.
“But if we are going to meet our target of cutting the average to less than four weeks, we need to do more, particularly to reach teenagers.
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