A super fit mother-of-one has revealed her fear after doctors have rejected her dizzy spells as a common ear infection while they were actually caused by a brain tumor.
Retired Pro-Wimmer Cate Jackson, 60, initially sought help for headaches, balance problems and fatigue, and was diagnosed with labyrinthitis.
The condition – which influences the inner ear and has both hearing and balance – becomes typically better without treatment, after a matter of days or weeks.
A former Commonwealth -athlete Mrs. Jackson, who participated for Great Britain from 1981 to 1985, was initially prescribed antibiotics.
Nevertheless, Mrs. Jackson, who was currently racing for Barnet Copthall Masters, did not respond to medication – and her problems deteriorated.
The actual cause of her symptoms was eventually unveiled in March 2023 when Scans unveiled an meningioma – a tumor that grows in the membrane around the brain.
Her daughter, Isobel, 26, a psychiatric support-worker from Wellyn, Hertfordshire, said: “Mama hit energy and said how it felt like she needed someone to drill in the side of her head to alleviate the pressure.
‘I studied the brain during my psychology rate at the university and thought that a little more sinister could be fault.
Cate Jackson, who was diagnosed with brain tumor after her dizzy spells were rejected as an ear infection
Cate Jackson and her daughter Isobel (left) and the MRI scan who unveiled the tumor (right)
“Although Mama didn’t want to make a fuss, I encouraged her to go back to the doctor and my fears were realized.”
After having undergone an MRI scan, Mrs. Jackson got her diagnosis.
She had an operation to remove the lump before she undergoes radiotherapy and is still checked with regular scans.
What is an meningioma and how is it treated?
An meningioma is a kind of tumor that starts in the layer of tissue (membranes) around the brain and the spinal cord, called men.
The symptoms cannot be clear because meningiomas usually grow slowly, but as it grows it can press in areas near the brain.
This can cause symptoms such as headache, problems with balance, weakness in an arm or leg, turns into your eyesight.
It can also cause changes in speech or swallow, changes in personality, being confused, epileptic seizures (fits) and disease (vomiting).
If an meningioma grows or causes symptoms, the most important treatment options are surgery and radiotherapy.
Isobel said: ‘Mama has some problems with her cognitive processing, but lives life as normal.
‘Mama’s brain tumor can be treated, but for some people I know this is not the case.
“Brain tumor research is a cause that I want to support, so that more potentially life -saving research can be conducted to keep families together.”
ISOBEL completed a run about the Jurassic Coast on 17 May 2025 with more than £ 1,000 for the charityIt is determined to find a remedy for all types of brain tumors.
She said: ‘It was fantastic but very different from running on the street.
‘I was planning to take the 100 km distance, but I had to withdraw earlier because I lost the body heat and could not heat up and would have been too dangerous to continue.
“I am so proud of myself for how far I ran and drop with the steep hills.”
Charlie Allsebrook, Community Development Manager for Brain Tumor Research, said: ‘We are incredibly grateful for ISOBEL for sharing the story of her mother and for entering into such a strenuous trekking challenge.
‘Cate’s story is a grim memory that brain tumors are random; They can meet everyone at any age and around 12,000 people are diagnosed with a primary brain tumor every year.
“We are grateful to Isobel that we have helped ourselves to shine a light on this devastating disease and the support of the brain -organ community.”
About a quarter of the nearly 13,000 brain tumors that are diagnosed in the UK every year are meningiomas, according to data from Cancer Research UK.
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