Man diagnosed with two brain tumors after suffering common 'hangover' symptoms
A man was diagnosed with two brain tumors after he dismissed his symptoms as a 'hangover'.
George Wade, 42, from North Yorkshire in the UK, first started experiencing symptoms in March last year.
But, having been for a day at the Cheltenham races, he chalked his symptoms down to having consumed too much alcohol.
On the drive home from the event, he began to suffer from a severe headache, memory loss and nausea when looking at car headlights.
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But it wasn't until the following month that he suffered what he thought was a stroke when the left side of his body became weak and his face started to droop.
George had a number of tests which came back normal, but it was his brother-in-law, Dr Caspar Wood, who booked him in for an MRI scan to make sure everything looked as it should after he - and George's wife, Ellie - believed he could have experienced a stroke.
Unfortunately, the scan revealed two brain tumors, which left George in complete shock.
"Ellie called Caspar who assumed it may be a stroke," he said.
"The following day he arranged for me to have a blood and eye test which came back all clear and he assured me I was fine.
"He said just to be safe he would get me an MRI scan on April 18 which I went to. He assured me again it was just precaution and they most likely wouldn't find anything.
"It was just to rule it out basically.
"I was told I have two brain tumors - a large one on the right side of my head which was described as the size of a tennis ball and another smaller one the size of a squash ball in the middle.
"I was later told the bigger one might have been growing for 20 years and only now it has gotten so big it was pushing my brain and causing symptoms."
George explained he was left stunned at the news.
"When I was told my diagnosis, it was a shock, I honestly felt helpless and that I was done for," he added.
"I was thinking to myself 'how do you survive with two brain tumours'.
"Last year was a conveyer belt of treatment.
“I suffered a weird psychosis as a side-effect of the steroids they put me on. It was like an out-of-body experience that was pretty scary."
George has since had an eight-hour surgery and spent six months having chemotherapy.
He also requires an MRI scan every three months to check for any growth of the tumors, which are astrocytomas.
Astrocytomas are a common type of brain tumors in both adults and children and develop from cells called astrocytes, according to Cancer Research UK.
"I was lucky that I had a MRI scan as frustrating as it is that I have these brain tumors at least I know and we caught them when we did as it could have been a lot worse," George added.
“In many ways I feel fitter and healthier than I have ever been after what's happened.
"A nutritionist put me on a special diet, and I lost a lot of weight.
"My brother-in-law is a GP and said there is nothing wrong with your heart, so get running again."
George is currently fundraising for charity, raising money by auctioning painted gavels through The Gavel Trail and Auction via the Bidpath Foundation.
Auctioneers from across the UK and even overseas are sponsoring the fundraiser by commissioning an artist to design and decorate a blank gavel and block.
An auction will take place in the Surveyors House at RICS Westminster, London, which you can bid on here.
Having already completed 20 marathons, George also completed the London Marathon in a time of three hours and 16 minutes earlier this year, raising almost £50,000 for The Brain Tumour Charity and the National Brain Appeal.
Lucy Devine