I thought I had really bad anxiety after feeling unsteady on my feet… but the truth could have killed me
A MUM-of-three was diagnosed with “bad anxiety” by a GP – before medics later discovered the terrifying truth. Police officer Emma Capper, 39, says she was dizzy and “unsteady” on her feet for weeks – which was eventually found to be a potentially deadly brain tumour. The mum-of-three says she feels let down by her […]
A MUM-of-three was diagnosed with “bad anxiety” by a GP – before medics later discovered the terrifying truth.
Police officer Emma Capper, 39, says she was dizzy and “unsteady” on her feet for weeks – which was eventually found to be a potentially deadly brain tumour.
The mum-of-three says she feels let down by her doctor after they failed to spot the cancer despite weeks of delays.
When she first sought treatment, medics diagnosed her with “really bad anxiety” and gave her beta blockers for high blood pressure.
She says she was also prescribed anti-sickness medication for dizziness over the phone.
But her symptoms worsened and she began to throw up, so she chose to bypass her GP and took herself straight to an emergency ward.
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Doctors there finally invited her for a head scan, which revealed she had a “large growth” at the back of her head – later shown to be cancerous.
Emma was then rushed to a specialist hospital where surgeons successfully removed the tumour eight days later.
But the mum believes she may have suffered for months if she’d accepted her local clinic’s diagnosis, and now needs new tests to see if the cancer has spread.
Emma said that she first rung her clinic in Oldham, Greater Manchester, in May after feeling something was wrong.
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The mum, who’d previously beat breast cancer, said: “I had to turn my whole body in order for me to turn my head without it being really, really painful and I had this weird feeling.
“So I rang the doctor to try and get an appointment. I did get a phone call later that day, but it was from a nurse, not a doctor.
“She prescribed me some tablets from that telephone consultation, anti-sickness tablets, and then invited me in for an appointment the next day.”
Emma went to the surgery the following day, but again she was seen by a nurse rather than GP, who she claims misdiagnosed her with “really bad anxiety”.
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Over the next weeks, Emma’s condition didn’t approve, and she suspected her breast cancer may have spread to her brain after looking at her symptoms on the internet.
She phoned her local GP again the next month but was still unable to get a face-to-face appointment with a doctor, who instead prescribed her medication for vertigo over the phone.
What are the symptoms of a brain tumour?
A brain tumour is a lump in the brain which is caused when brain cells divide and grow in an uncontrolled way.
According to the NHS, the symptoms of a brain tumour depend on its severity and which part of the brain is affected.
However, there are common signs that people can look out for if they are worried.
The most common signs of a brain tumour include severe, non-stop headaches and seizures.
Nausea, vomiting and drowsiness are also often symptoms.
Other signs can include vision or speech problems, paralysis, and even changes to a person’s behaviour such as having difficulty remembering things.
A few days later Emma began throwing up, so she took herself to a local emergency unit after getting advice from her dad, who is a nurse.
Doctors then gave her an emergency head scan, which revealed she had been drastically misdiagnosed for weeks – with the CT revealing a large growth at the back of her head.
Emma was rushed to Salford Royal Hospital, and eight days later, surgeons removed the tumour from her head.
She will now undergo radiotherapy treatment.
