A mum-of-three went to the optician as she was struggling to see and thought she may have an eye infection - but was shocked to learn she actually had a brain tumour.
Marcia, a 45-year-old company director, woke one day and realised her vision was blurry but initially, she thought nothing of it.
Over time, her sight deteriorated and soon she was struggling to see at all, so she booked herself into her nearest optician, Specsavers Cowley, to get her eyes checked.
The Specsavers optician was alarmed by what they saw so sent Marcia, from Oxford, to nearby John Radcliffe hospital - and soon doctors confirmed she had a 'massive brain tumour' that if left untreated, could cause her to go blind.
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Marcia said: "I thought I was going to be diagnosed with an eye infection when I went to my doctor in November 2022 as I was starting to go blind - I had very blurred vision.
"I was struggling to drive.
"They told me they thought it was an eye infection and they gave me some antibiotics - it didn't improve anything and in January I called back and said something isn't right and I got a referral to ophthalmology.
"They told me that if I hadn't heard back by March to let them know, but my eyesight was deteriorating rapidly.
"My partner's mum suggested I go to Specsavers so I did, that was on January 25, that's when they said they weren't happy with my retina being flat and the way my optic nerve looked, it was very pale.
"They got me into the John Radcliffe Hospital that same day. I was there for about five hours, they did a series of tests on my eyes, they do blood tests and a CT scan, and they sat me down and said that I had a benign brain tumour.
"That's how I found out, I thought I was going to have an eye infection but I actually had a brain tumour."
Marcia, who asked not to share her surname, was lucky that her tumour was benign - but it was still very large and putting pressure on her brain.
The pressure was causing issues and Marcia believes that eventually, she would have lost her sight altogether.
She continued: "As you can imagine it was quite a shock. I was shocked but I'd heard the words benign and treatable, so I asked them about treatment and how I should deal with it. She was talking to me and I had tears streaming down my face from shock.
"I did feel quite fortunate, with it being benign. Basically, they said that I would have to undergo surgery to have it removed, and they'll be in contact.
"Unfortunately, the neurologist was away all of February so they referred me to charring cross.
"Thankfully I had the neurologist phone me and they said they could see me in a week's time, I told them I couldn't wait a week as I'd be blind by then and he said I should come through emergency.
"I headed down the next day, I got there at 12pm and I had the operation at 6pm in the evening.
"I was really grateful because Charring Cross is a very busy hospital, but they are quick to respond to things and adapt and respond to things. The team were absolutely brilliant.
"Had the response not been so quick, I would probably be blind.
"Specsavers are very surprised to see how my eyesight has responded, the doctor told me he never expected my eyesight to recover so well. Now I have better than 2020 vision.
"An average brain tumour is 10mm and mine was 2.9cm, it was massive - that's why there was so much pressure."
Marcia has spoken out about her condition as she wants to raise awareness of brain tumours.
She said that the word "tumour" can be scary to hear, but it's better to get symptoms checked out than to ignore them.
She added: "Brain tumours are quite common, about 20 per cent of the population have them, but they're usually only found due to hormonal issues or sight issues. Because mine was so large, it took them about six hours to get it out.
"I'm very glad I went, if I hadn't I would have lost my vision and wouldn't have been treated so quickly. I rang the man who referred me to thank him, and I went in to see him afterwards to get my vision checked to make sure I was ok to drive, and he was blown away by how good my vision was.
"I feel incredibly fortunate because my eyesight has sprung back - I've been wearing prescription glasses since I was 15, and it's always been causing a problem, not only has it returned my eyesight, but I can hear better, breathe better, and my hormones are working like they should do.
"I just wish there was more awareness around it - people need to know that they are a common thing."
Lead optometrist Jake Henderson, who works at Specsavers Cowley, said: "Cases such as these are rare.
"These cases really highlight how important regular eye examinations are. As well as improving what you can see, we can detect health problems from the more serious conditions such as tumours to diabetes and high blood pressure, often before they cause symptoms.
"My advice would be never to leave anything too late and ignore symptoms. If something doesn't feel right, just get it checked out.
"We recommend having your eyes tested at least every two years unless you have concerns about your sight, in which case it is advisable to book an appointment sooner."
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