A MUM who is living with an inoperable brain tumour has raised more than £8,000 for a charity that has given her vital support.
Sian Norman, from Emersons Green, was diagnosed after her face started swelling in January last year.
Partner Mark Hooper urged her to see a doctor, who thought she might have had a stroke.
Sian was taken to hospital by ambulance. There she was told she hadn’t had a stroke, but a CT scan of her brain had caused concern.
Sian, who had been undergoing monitoring for an autoimmune disease, had previously been scanned ten years earlier and staff could see that an area of her brain had changed since then. A further MRI scan confirmed that she had a brain tumour.
Sian said: “It was a massive shock.
“I’d had it for ten years and not known.”
Sian, who works as a healthcare assistant for Sirona’s district nursing team, had previously worked at the brain injury unit at Frenchay Hospital and thought back to the many patients she had cared for there.
At first the specialist neuro-oncologist thought they could operate.
But a further detailed scan revealed that because of the shape and position of the tumour, an operation would be too dangerous to attempt.
Sian said: “The tumour is in my left hippocampus, which is shaped like a sea horse’s tail. It’s growing all the way around.
“Surgery wasn’t an option because I could lose 55% of my memory, and for the same reason they couldn’t do a biopsy, so they don’t know what type of tumour it is and they can’t do any treatment “It’s a case of ‘watch and wait’.
“I’ve no symptoms.
“I’m under six-monthly surveillance, at the last scan there was no change and my next scan is in April.”
As well as the “overwhelming” support of her family and close friends, Sian says professional help and advice from charity Brain Tumour Support has made a “massive” difference.
She said: “They understand the emotions that go with it. It’s helped massively to talk to someone that gets it.”
To repay the Thornbury-based charity for its support, Sian organised a fundraising night at Centurys Club in Kingswood in March that was attended by around 200 people and raised a total of £8,238.
The event included a raffle with donations from local businesses and signed sports shirts from Bristol City, Rovers and Bath Rugby as well as England Rugby international Ellis Genge.
An auction with BBC Radio Bristol presenter and actor Joe Sims as auctioneer raised more than £1,000 during the evening.
For more information about the charity, visit www.braintumoursupport.co.uk or call 01454 422701.