A woman turned away by a GP for being an 'attention seeker' has told how she was then diagnosed with a deadly brain tumour which resulted in her losing an eye.
When Vikki Hindley went to see her doctor complaining of headaches and nausea, she was fobbed off as faking an eating disorder for attention.
But scans went on to show the then 16-year-old had squamous cell carcinoma, which had spread to the frontal lobe of her brain.
Now 41, Vikki, has told how she had been visiting her nan in Manchester during 1997 while feeling ill, and was taken to the GP.
He sent her to Wythenshawe Hospital for a sinus wash which found a cancerous polyp.
"I had an MRI scan and was bluntly told I had cancer. They said they couldn’t operate because the squamous cell carcinoma had spread to the frontal lobe of my brain.
“I had chemotherapy at the Christie Hospital in Manchester as mum and I had moved back there. It was very intense and I lost my hair.
''I was constantly sick and everything I ate came straight back up. I went down to four stone so I needed to be put on a feeding tube."
Now living in Manchester herself, Vikki said she also had to undergo radiotherapy which burnt the side of her neck and the bottom half of her head.
''It also resulted in me losing my right eye and the hearing in my right ear. It was devastating. The older I got, the more the realisation set in just how poorly I was.”
The cancer had also spread to Vikki's sinus and glands, and she now subsequently has various health problems, such as fibromyalgia and osteoporosis.
Vikki is working with the charity Brain Tumour Research and is doing the 10,000 Steps a Day in February challenge to help find a cure for the disease.
She said: “It’s so important to me because I’m still here and I’m so grateful. Research has helped me to be here. This challenge will be hard for me, but I’m determined to do it. If I can give back just a little bit, then it’s all worth it.”
