Troubled by a pain in her ear, Kerry Sharples from Crewe, Cheshire, saw her doctor – the mum had no idea of the devastating health condition she would eventually be diagnosed with
Kerry Sharples visited her GP after she started experiencing pain in her left ear last year but when tests didn’t reveal anything she assumed it was just a virus.
The 45-year-old says she then began experiencing pulsing in her right ear but ignored it for months until she mentioned it while having a general check-up at the GP in August 2025. After multiple blood tests and an MRI scan Kerry says she was ‘completely shocked’ to discover she had four brain tumours in October 2025, confirmed to be benign and known as meningiomas, with the largest being 3.5cm behind her right eye.
The mum-of-two claims doctors told her there are links between her brain tumour diagnosis and the contraception injections she’d been taking for the last 21 years and advised her to stop using them. According to the NHS, having medroxyprogesterone contraceptive injections for three years or longer may increase your chance of getting a type of brain tumour called meningioma, but it remains rare.
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Kerry says the situation is ‘unfair’ as she believes she was not adequately warned about the risks and claims she could have died or lost her eyesight if she didn’t get checked out when she did. She says she feels ‘silly’ and would ‘take the period any day now’ over her diagnosis and urges people to ‘rethink and research’ when considering birth control.
Kerry, a teaching assistant who lives in Crewe, Cheshire, said: “I regret taking these injections. It sounds so silly now that I just didn’t want the periods and stayed on it and now I’ve got four brain tumours. I’d take the periods any day now. It’s crazy. It sounds really pathetic now but I went on the injections straight after I had my daughter because I didn’t want periods.
“I was asked a couple of times if I’d go on something else because [it can weaken your bones] and I said no. I know a lot of ladies had certain side effects but as far as I was concerned I was fine. I thought ‘why change something that wasn’t broken?’ Had they mentioned [the brain tumours] it would’ve been different. I was a bit naive to look into it but you just presume you’re getting it from the doctors so you’re okay.”
Aside from the pain in her left ear and the ‘pulse’ sound in her ear, she explains that she didn’t really have any other obvious symptoms. She says her memory is ‘not the best’ and occasionally gets a few ‘tremors’ in her hands but always put it down to being premenopausal.
But blood tests and an MRI scan doctors revealed that Kerry has four brain tumours and is awaiting a second MRI scan in March to see if the tumour has grown any further. After her diagnosis, she says doctors told her to stop taking the injections due to research showing links with brain tumours so she stopped using them in December 2025.
Kerry said: “I was in complete shock [when I saw my diagnosis]. I was like ‘what does this mean’. I still don’t know if I’ve completely dealt with it. I’m very much a crack on and get on with it but sometimes it does get to you. I would’ve just carried on having it and who knows, [losing an eye] doesn’t bear thinking about.
“I think it could have been a possibility [that it would be fatal] as I would have just kept having the [injection], so the tumours would just keep growing. I’m hoping they shrink or just don’t grow now I’m off it.
“I said I wanted to come off the injections because of the recent brain tumours and there being a link so they cancelled my appointment. The hospital said to me there are links and it’s all on the notes and it said it advised me to stop taking the injection.”
Now she wants to spread awareness and urge others to ‘do their research’ before starting birth control. Kerry said: “It’s really unfair. I know there’s side effects to everything. But I just feel like it’s very much like ‘you’ve got that and just deal with it and get on with it’.
“It’s just frustrating that they’re allowed to get away with it. Now that they’ve put a warning out they’re still available. It just doesn’t seem right that they can do that. I’ve been on it for over 20 years. Why was that not brought to my attention even in 2024? Why has it not been told to me?
“It’s so annoying that there are so many women out there on these injections and have no idea. I don’t want to scare people [or] to put the fear of God into them but they do need to be aware of what they can cause.
“Just re-think and do your research. There are other options out there. I’m just going to stay off everything because I’m just wary of everything. You just don’t know.”
In October 2024, one manufacturer along with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said there is a small increased risk of developing meningioma with high doses of medroxyprogesterone, primarily after prolonged use. The report said meningiomas are rare and the ‘absolute risks are very small’.
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) also listed meningiomas as a side effect of ‘high doses, particularly long-term uses’ of the drug and advised that it must be stopped if meningioma is diagnosed. The MHRA said that, as with all medicines, they are keeping the safety of MPA and other synthetic forms of progesterone under continual review.
A spokesperson for the MHRA said: “Patient safety is our top priority. MHRA continuously monitors all licensed medicines for safety. [The drug] is an injectable contraceptive injection which contains medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) and is used to prevent unwanted pregnancy.
“Product information for products containing MPA was initially updated in 2024 following studies which showed a risk of meningioma associated with use of high dose MPA. It was further updated in early 2025 with new advice and additional measures to manage the risk.
“The Patient Information Leaflet was also updated to ensure patients were aware of the symptoms of meningioma and with the advice that they should contact their doctor if they experienced these symptoms.
“For the majority of people, the benefits of [the drug] far outweigh the risk, but we advise anyone with any concerns to speak with their GP, pharmacist or contraceptive provider.”
A Pfizer spokesperson said: “Patient safety is our top priority. We conduct rigorous and continuous monitoring of all our medicines, including assessments of reported adverse events, in collaboration with health authorities around the globe.
“Medroxyprogesterone acetate has been approved in more than 60 countries over the last 30 years, has a well-established efficacy and safety profile and has been a treatment option for millions of patients during that time. People should talk to their doctor, pharmacist or nurse if they have any concerns or experience any side effects.”
