Tumour the ‘size of a golf ball’ discovered in routine eye test
WHEN Dean Wright went for a routine eye test at his local opticians, he expected to be given a clean bill of health.
But just days later the 46-yearold was in hospital having a tumour the size of a golf ball removed near his brain.
Despite the size of the mass and where it was positioned, Dean said he was not experiencing any debilitating symptoms whatsoever.
“When a tumour is that size, people suffer crippling headaches or blackouts, but I didn’t,” he said.
“To me it was just a normal day, a normal check-up.”
Dean, who works for Johnstone’s Trade Paints, said he visited Specsavers on Queen Street, Cardiff, in August 2018.
He was seen by optometrist Tahira Rahman who thought his optic nerve looked swollen. He was referred to the University Hospital of Wales (UHW) in Cardiff for further tests.
After a CT scan and an MRI, a neurologist told Dean he had a cerebral meningioma - a benign, non-cancerous brain tumour.
Following a gruelling eighthour operation to remove it, doctors told him the tumour was almost the size of a golf ball and could have been disabling or even life-threatening if it had grown further.
“It’s easy to assume that a sight test is just to check your vision, but it’s much more than that,” Dean said.
“During my visit I learned very
quickly that it’s more than just an eye test and choosing new glasses. For me, there was a lot more at stake.”
Dean said he suffered from losses of consciousness in the days following his operation and hasn’t been able to drive since. However, he has returned to work on light duties.
He spoke out about his experience as part of Brain Tumour Awareness Week which runs from October 24 to 31.
According to the charity Brain Tumour Research, around 16,000 people are diagnosed with brain tumours in the UK each year, and there are estimated to be more than 60,000 people living with a brain tumour.
Tahira Rahman, optometrist at Specsavers in Cardiff, said: “Dean’s story is a case in point about why we continue to stress the importance of regular sight tests - at least once every two years - to our customers.
“They are a ‘ must do’, not a ‘should do’, as your eyes can often provide an early indicator of wider health conditions, regardless of whether you’ve had any symptoms of illness or not. If anyone has any concerns about their eye health, or notices a change in their vision, it is always best to seek the advice of an optician.”