A mother of one who rejected her forgetfulness as a symptom of the menopause was destroyed to hear that she had an unusable brain tumor.
April Tate, 52, from Burntisland in Fife, was first delivered in 2018 when she forgot the name of a child while she worked as a child.
In the conviction that it was hormonal, she called it during a routine general practitioner – only to be asked to attend the operation immediately.
A scan in her local hospital revealed a mass deep in the middle of her brain.
Doctors diagnosed her with a rear falcine meningioma-a low tumor at a location that is too dangerous for surgery.
April, a single parent of daughter Abby, was placed on ‘Watch and Waited’ with regular scans every six months. The tumor initially grew slowly, but at the end of 2022 it started to increase in size.
Even under 30 mm it qualified for stereotactic radiotherapy – a targeted form of radiation that minimizes damage to the surrounding brain tissue.
April said: ‘When they said I had a brain tumor, my first thought I would die.
April Tate, 52, from Burntisland in Fife, was first delivered in 2018 when she forgot the name of a child while working as a childman
April is depicted here with her radiotherapy mask
“It was a narcotic moment. I was a single mother and my daughter Abby was still a teenager. The only thing I could think about was not being for her. ‘
“The self -employed meant that taking free time for treatment also put financial pressure, which was only added to the stress.”
She added: “When the surgeon explained, the tumor was in a very difficult part of my brain and he had previously tried surgery in that area, it was hard to accept.”
Instead, April was placed on a program of regular scans.
She said: ‘It was frightening to live with the unknown whether it would grow or not. After a while I started to adjust.
“The tumor was slowly growing and it didn’t change much for a while.”
But at the end of 2022 the tumor had grown. It was still under 30 mm, which means that April was eligible for stereotactic radiotherapy. The treatment, although exactly, took its toll.
“The radiotherapy itself was pretty fast every day, but it was tiring,” she said.
Doctors diagnosed her with a rear falcine meningioma-a low tumor at a location that is too dangerous for surgery. The brain scan of April is shown above, the tumor shown in white
‘The team had to make a modified mask to keep my head still completely, which felt claustrophobic and intense.
‘I just closed my eyes, listened to music and tried to stay calm. The most difficult part came afterwards, because it had to wait to find out if it had worked. ‘
To her relief, the tumor had shrunk. Follow-up scans have shown further reduction and April now has annual monitoring.
Since then she has been back to work and she has even completed her first 5K -run earlier this year.
Meningiomas are the most common type of brain tumor, good for about a third of all cases.
They form in the meninges-the protective membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord and are usually slowly growing and benign.
However, their location can make them dangerous. A rear falcine meningioma is developing near the Falx -Cerebri, a narrow fold of tissue between the two hemispheres of the brain.
Tumors in this region are deep -rooted and often close to critical structures, such as large blood vessels, making surgery extremely risky or impossible.
Meningiomas are the most common type of brain tumor, good for about a third of all cases
Determined to make the difference, April will take on the 88 squats per day in July -to support brain tumor research
Symptoms depend on the size and location of the tumor, but may include headache, face problems, memory loss or behavioral changes.
Many patients, such as April, initially reject early warning signals such as stress, aging or hormonal changes.
Treatment options include surgery, radiotherapy or ‘Watch and Wait’ monitoring.
Also known as active surveillance, this approach is often used for slowly growing brain tumors that do not cause serious symptoms.
Instead of hurrying in an operation or radiotherapy, doctors follow the tumor with regular MRI scans – usually every six to 12 months – to follow growth.
This strategy is considered safe when the tumor is low-quality (non-cancer-like), small in size and not near the brain that regulate critical functions.
It helps prevent the risks of invasive treatment, unless absolutely necessary.
However, the psychological toll can be important. Patients live with the knowledge that the tumor is still there, and if it starts to grow or cause problems, they can be treated later, such as surgery or radiotherapy.
In the case of April, the position of her tumor meant that surgery was excluded – but it was able to undergo stereotactic radiotherapy, a targeted form of treatment that can shrink tumors and at the same time spare healthy brain tissue.
Determined to make the difference, April assumes the 88 squats per day in July -to support brain tumor investigation.
The challenge strives for £ 2,740 – The amount needed to finance a single day of research at the Scottish Brain Tumor Research Center of Excellence, in collaboration with the charity of Beatson Cancer.
She raises the money via the website Justgiving.
April said: ‘People hear the words’ benign’ or ‘low-grade’ and assume that it is nothing serious, but I still live with this every day.
‘There is something in my brain that should not be there, and it can change at any time.
‘I was even worried about how the new relationships could influence and that I did not want to burden someone else with what I went through. But we still deserve to fully live and love and loved.
‘What shocks me the most is how little financing is about investigating brain tumors. That must change. ‘
Ashley McWilliams, Community Development Manager at Brain Tumor Research, said: ‘The story of April is a powerful memory that brain tumors can be easily missed or for daily health problems.
“Falling her strength in the face of such a frightening diagnosis, and her dedication to increase consciousness is incredibly inspiring.”
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