Sarah Hitchman, 43, from Bognor Regis in West Sussex, discovered she had been unknowingly living with a brain tumour, a meningioma that had been silently growing for months.
Sarah had experienced symptoms including fatigue, anxiety, double vision, jaw pain, headaches, and anxiety, which were initially attributed to perimenopause. But while travelling, Sarah suffered a sudden tonic-clonic seizure. Within hours of being admitted to hospital, a CT scan revealed a 5cm tumour on her brain.
Her diagnosis marked the start of a whirlwind journey involving emergency surgery and an abrupt, life-changing shift. Now in recovery, Sarah is taking on the 88 Squats a Day in July Challenge to raise vital funds and awareness for Brain Tumour Research.
Sarah tells her story…
Looking back, it’s almost surreal. In November 2023, I visited the optician because I had started experiencing double vision. I was given glasses and just assumed that was the end of it.
But in January, things started to feel off. The headaches became more frequent, so I saw my GP who thought it was a sinus issue or maybe an ear infection and I was eventually diagnosed with eustachian tube dysfunction. I also had jaw pain every time I bit down, but my dentist said it was probably from grinding my teeth.
Before leaving for Ireland in April 2025 to visit my brother Michael over Easter, I had even made another GP appointment for my return because I was feeling anxious. I chalked it up to menopause and left it at that.
On April 15th, I had just landed in County Cork in Ireland with my husband, Brian. We were only 20 minutes away from Michael’s house when I suddenly started to feel sick. I thought it was travel sickness, until my mouth locked open, my chin started shaking, and I heard a loud banging in my ears. Then I blacked out. I’d had a tonic-clonic seizure in the car.
Michael and Brian panicked, Brian didn’t know the emergency number in Ireland, but luckily Michael did.
When I regained consciousness, I was confused and in pain, I’d bitten down hard on my tongue. My husband thought I’d stopped breathing because I went blue, they genuinely believed I had died.
I had no idea what was going on and was totally stunned. The paramedics arrived and took me to Bantry General Hospital. They initially suspected an infection, but something must have alerted them to dig deeper. That night, they did a CT scan and found a 5cm mass on my brain.
Alone in a foreign hospital, I was told I likely had brain cancer. I was horrified, shocked and stunned. It was the worst, I felt alone.
I called Brian who rushed back with Michael. The doctors also found fluid on my brain and suspected the tumour could have been secondary, stemming from a known lump in my breast.
They recommended I return to the UK as soon as possible rather than begin treatment in Ireland. I wasn’t allowed to fly, so we took a ferry to Wales and then drove to St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester. But due to the Easter bank holiday, there were delays. It felt like I had left for a family visit and returned in the middle of someone else’s nightmare.
I knew it wasn't looking good because after my MRI scan at St Richard’s Hospital they immediately called the neurology department at Southampton General Hospital, and I was told I needed to see the surgeon the next day.
That was the longest night of my life, waiting and then driving to Southampton the next day was awful.
An MRI scan at Southampton confirmed the worst, a tentorium meningioma, located near my right temporal lobe. The surgeon was incredible, he explained everything clearly and compassionately. The tumour was large, and surgery was risky. It could affect my movement, eyesight, or even cause a stroke, but I had no choice. Surgery was scheduled within a week. I cried, I just couldn’t process what he was saying, and I was scared.
It was terrifying. My mind went to the darkest places. I worried about telling people and how they'd react, it felt like people were visiting to say goodbye.
The operation went well. The first thing I heard after surgery was a very loud alarm and for some reason, I thought I was in a travel lodge and the fire alarm was going off. I could hear my husband who was being really loud, and I asked the nurse to tell him to be quiet, but she said he wasn’t there. It's quite amusing now looking back. But I felt a huge sense relief that I could move all my arms and legs, and I was extremely hungry which was a good sign.
They removed the entire tumour, and it was confirmed to be grade 1 meningioma and low risk. I went home two days later.
Recovery had its challenges and the emotions from the trauma and shock of it all eventually became overwhelming. My eye swelled shut, and I developed vertical double vision, but the ophthalmology team at St Richard’s have been brilliant. I now wear a special lens sticker to help, and my vision is gradually improving.
People keep telling me that I was strong and brave. But honestly, I didn’t feel that way. Everything happened so fast, I just did what I was told. I didn’t have time to be brave, I didn't have a choice and just wanted to survive.
In hindsight when I initially went to my GP, I was only seen by a nurse. In isolation it was just that one thing, but all the other things weren't picked up. I also think the anxiety I was experiencing was silence seizures also known as absent seizures. Thankfully I no longer experience that anymore, but awareness is needed.
The last few weeks I have really improved, my confidence has returned, and I am returning to work to have some handover before the end of the school term.
Now I’m taking part in Brain Tumour Research’s 88 Squats a Day Challenge, and I’ve raised over £820. I feel so proud, I know times are hard, so I am grateful for all the support. The statistics I’ve learned since being diagnosed are shocking, brain tumours kill more children and adults under 40 than any other cancer, and research is vastly underfunded.
I feel incredibly lucky. It was a horrendous time, but now I have a second chance to move forward, create a new normal, and raise awareness so others don’t face the same uncertainty I did.
Sarah Hitchman
July 2025
One in three people in the UK knows someone affected by a brain tumour. This disease is indiscriminate; it can affect anyone at any age. What’s more, brain tumours continue to kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer yet, to date, just 1% of the national spend on cancer research has been allocated to this devastating disease since records began in 2002.
Brain Tumour Research is determined to change this.
If you have been inspired by Sarah’s story, you may like to make a donation via www.braintumourresearch.org/donate or leave a gift in your will via www.braintumourresearch.org/legacy
Together we will find a cure
