Nikita Sterling, 39, from Kent, had experienced migraines since she was 18, but they became more frequent and severe in October 2024
A mum-of-two who was told her brain tumour “could have been growing for 20 years” after occasional migraines since her teenage years has urged others to “be more assertive” and “advocate for themselves”. Nikita Sterling, 39, from Medway, Kent, had suffered migraines since she was 18, experiencing visual disturbances and “intense pressure” headaches, but never sought additional medical help as they only struck two or three times annually.
In October 2024, Nikita, a secondary school psychology teacher, realised her migraines were occurring more regularly – as often as every three weeks. Her symptoms deteriorated until it felt like someone was “filling (her) head up with water” and she once “lost the ability to talk” during a parents’ evening.
At their most severe, Nikita said her symptoms would make her “black out” and “wake up in a puddle of sick” – alarming her husband of nine years, Dean, 40, and their two children, Sebastian, eight, and Florence, five. Nikita said she fought for more answers but found it difficult to get a doctor to “listen”, so she spent £400 on a private MRI scan, which uncovered a “large” tumour in her brain – the source of her deteriorating symptoms. Doctors believed the mass “could have been growing for 20 years” unbeknownst to Nikita.
After surgical removal and testing, it was identified as a meningioma – a non-cancerous brain tumour. Now, Nikita is determined to use her experience to encourage others to “advocate” for their health and implores doctors to “listen to their patients”.
“If my story can help one person to advocate for themselves and be more assertive, that can only be a good thing,” Nikita said. “Doctors need to listen to their patients and truly trust that they know their own bodies. I know they are rushed for time and have a million things to do, but just listen – it could be the one thing that really makes a difference.”
Nikita has been plagued by migraines since she was 18. “They weren’t something I ever sought medical help for because I would have them two or three times a year,” she said. “It would last for eight to 12 hours and then it would fade away.”
She described her migraines as “quite debilitating”, causing visual disturbances, numbness on the right side of her body, nausea and sickness, and “intense pressure” headaches. “I remember at one point years ago, I was pulling my hair to try and relieve the pressure,” she said.
Despite the symptoms, Nikita claimed her migraines were “not ever really a problem” until October 2024 when she noticed “significant changes”. She revealed they would occur “every three weeks” and she experienced increased pressure where it felt like someone was “filling (her) head up with water”.
Her symptoms began to interfere with her daily activities, forcing Nikita to take breaks while teaching her classes at school. She sought medical advice, but was told they were “just migraines”.
However, Nikita realised something more serious was happening when she suddenly “lost the ability to talk” at a parents’ evening in January this year. “I just couldn’t think of the words I needed to say, it was really embarrassing,” she said.
Nikita’s symptoms worsened over the following months, but she found it difficult to secure a doctor’s appointment or to “get a doctor to listen”. In February 2025, she turned to a private GP through her husband’s work insurance and was referred to see a neurologist, with the earliest appointment in May.
“I thought ‘I can manage until then, at least I know I will see someone’,” she said. However, Nikita’s symptoms took a turn for the worse, and she would “black out” and “wake up in a puddle of sick” – leading her to stop working due to her health. Nikita revealed her sister urged her to pay privately for an MRI scan, which cost £400.
“We were due to go on a big family holiday and she asked me to get one to check I would be safe to fly,” Nikita explained. “Luckily, I could afford to pay, but I just think there must be so many people who can’t afford to do that.”
Nikita underwent the MRI scan in April this year at a clinic in Maidstone, Kent, revealing they contacted her within hours to say she urgently needed to attend A&E. The scan results were forwarded to Medway Hospital, where a medic told her there was a “large mass” on her frontal lobe, which was subsequently identified as a meningioma – a benign brain tumour.
“I broke down, it had taken so long to reach this point,” Nikita said. “I was shocked at how big (the tumour) was, and all the extra white stuff around it on the scan was swelling, which was causing all my head pressure.”
Nikita revealed she was sent to King’s College Hospital in London, which accepted her case. A brain surgeon advised her that the optimal treatment was an operation to extract the tumour.
“They didn’t know what it was at that point, but the longer we left it, the more damage it could cause,” she said.
Nikita underwent a four-hour procedure to eliminate the mass on April 22 this year – her husband’s 40th birthday.
“It was all much harder on my family than it was for me, I remember feeling really calm and safe, but I think I’d be an absolute mess if I had to watch my husband getting wheeled away,” she said. Nikita revealed that her young children “coped with it really well”, even giving her their teddy bears to accompany her into hospital.
The tumour was identified as a meningioma, with doctors suspecting “it could have been growing for 20 years”.
“I felt complete relief when I was told it was benign,” she expressed. “This is the best outcome I could have received and I feel really, really lucky.”
She shared that doctors managed to remove the entire tumour, and she’s due for a six-month post-surgery scan in the upcoming weeks. Although she has recovered well from the operation, she admitted that she now tires more easily, which has been the “hardest thing to deal with”.
Regarding her migraines, Nikita said they have lessened and her symptoms have improved. If she begins to experience visual disturbances, usually the first sign of an impending migraine, she can take medication which will “stop them in their tracks”.
From September, she plans to gradually return to her teaching role. Her husband, Dean, is gearing up for the Climb the Capital challenge in October to raise funds for The Brain Tumour Charity.
The challenge involves conquering three of London’s towering skyscrapers – the Cheesegrater, the Scalpel and the Walkie-Talkie – in a gruelling stair-climb. To learn more about Dean’s challenge, visit his fundraising page.
