Amy McNamara, 30, from West Lothian suffered a seizure on holiday in Ibiza in May 2023 – initially feared she had been spiked but the diagnosis changed everything
A woman from West Lothian who experienced a seizure while on holiday initially feared she had been spiked, only to later discover she had a cancerous brain tumour.
Amy McNamara, hailing from Bathgate, was holidaying on a Spanish island with friends in May 2023 when she fell ill overnight. Her friend witnessed the seizure and raised the alarm, but Amy had no recollection of the incident.
The 30 year old recounted: “One minute I’d laid down for a rest, the next minute, paramedics burst into the bedroom. I thought, maybe someone’s put something in my drink. The medics in Ibiza did basic tests on me, and everything was ok. I walked out of the hotel room absolutely fine.”
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The incident was dismissed as a one-off event, and she resumed her holiday without any further health issues. However, a few months later, she started suffering from random panic attacks and blurred vision. She suspected it might be due to prolonged screen time associated with her job as an accountant, according to the Daily Record.
Deciding to consult her GP about her symptoms, Amy was referred to neurology where she received a tentative diagnosis of epilepsy. She underwent a scan to rule out other conditions. She added: “So much of my diagnosis was down to chance. I nearly didn’t have a scan. Then when I went for one, they forgot to do it with contrast at first.
“A nurse called me back at the last minute. If they hadn’t done the second scan, my tumour might have stayed undiscovered until much later.”
She was diagnosed with a grade four astrocytoma, a prevalent form of primary brain tumour that develops from star-shaped cells known as astrocytes. In August 2023, she underwent surgery to have it removed.
However, because of its location in the left temporal lobe, medics were concerned that removing it entirely would affect her speech, so 10 per cent remained in her skull.
Her surgeon was determined to have another go. She said: “My surgeon is fantastic. I felt able to put all my trust in him. When I came round from my second operation, it was nice to see him sitting at the end of my bed, and to see that he was smiling! He was very happy to have taken 95% of the tumour out.”
Amy then faced multiple rounds of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, and is now kept under observation with scans every three months. Initially, she struggled to come to terms with the upheaval caused by the diagnosis and treatment, and later with getting back to work and attempting to focus and perform at her previous standard.
She explained: “Although I’m so glad most of my tumour was removed, it’s tough to know that some of it was, and is, still here. Then daily sessions of chemotherapy and radiotherapy for six weeks, and additional chemo for six months … it was draining and terrifying to try to accept, and try to survive.”
Amy came across a free counselling service provided by the Brain Tumour Charity, and made the decision to seek support. She continued: “I could talk about things I couldn’t tell my mum. I’d been in a bad way. I’d been writing letters to leave to my family. I was scared of dying, and at the same time, I was trying to pretend that everything was fine. That’s not healthy.
“My counsellor was amazing from the start. It was as if I knew her, and she knew me. As my treatment went on, my mood improved. She could see the improvements in me. I’ll always be grateful to the Charity for the support I received, and for the precious support they provided to family and friends. It made such a difference to how I was feeling, and helped me to get through my treatment.
“It helped me into a routine and to get some independence back, without feeling terrified and angry due to memory issues etc, every day.”
Since then, she has embarked on an Active Autumn challenge to raise funds to assist other families facing similar circumstances– and because she wanted to regain some of her fitness.
Her fundraising page can be accessed here.
