Eye test saved my life
A grandmother says she is 'lucky to be alive' after a routine eye test discovered a life threatening brain tumour.
Anne Torode, 63, visited an opticians after her eyesight started to deteriorate and was quickly referred to hospital.
The health care worker was diagnosed with a tumour of the pituitary gland and underwent an urgent operation, where the majority of it was removed.
She is now recovering and says she owes her life to the optometrist who spotted the problem.
Mrs Torode, of Nunn Square, Bury St Edmunds, said: "That visit to the opticians saved my life and I dread to think what would have happened if I hadn't gone."
In November she went to Specsavers, on Cornhill, in Bury, after suffering from tunnel vision and struggling to walk in a straight line.
During the eye examination, optometrist Zoe Bailey initially thought she had a type of partial blindness.
She then carried out an in-depth assessment and examined Mrs Torode with a special camera.
It indicated that she had excess pressure in her eye, which is a sign of problems with her pituitary gland.
Mrs Torode was referred to West Suffolk Hospital, where she was examined and referred to Addenbrooke's Hospital, in Cambridge, to be treated.
On Christmas Eve, Mrs Torode had an MRI scan, which confirmed the tumour.
Days later, she had an operation to remove most of the tumour.
They were unable to remove some of it, but it is benign.
She will have an MRI scan in December to check it.
Mrs Torode, who has lived in Bury for more than 40 years, said: "I feel a lot better but by the time the afternoon comes I am really tired.
"The most frightening part of my ordeal was that there was absolutely no signs of the severity of my illness and so it came as such a shock.
"I wasn't experiencing any headaches, vomiting or any other symptoms associated with a tumour.
"From my own experience I would advise anyone not to wait if they are experiencing problems with their vision.
"I never thought this would happen to me."
Mrs Bailey, who has been at Specsavers for more than three years, added: "It's one of those things as a professional you hope never to find but if you do you hope you've got it in time."
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Weather for Bury St Edmunds
Saturday 04 February 2012
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