A MUM from Selby said a trip to the optician proved to be life-changing.

Helen Philips, said she was misdiagnosed for four years until she went for an eye test at Selby Specsavers, where she was rushed for immediate referral at York Hospital following shadows on her optic nerve.

Later that day 55-year-old Helen was diagnosed with a brain tumour.

She is now keen to raise awareness about the importance of eye exams.

Helen’s problems initially began with sinus issues and headaches; however, her conditions became increasingly worse around 2015. After roughly 15 visits to the doctor, she said her symptoms were incorrectly diagnosed – put down to her having the flu, hay fever, menopause, and depression.

In 2016, Helen, who is married to Duncan and has a daughter, Amy, was made redundant, which provided her with the much-needed time to rest. However, her symptoms got worse, and she soon fell into what she describes as a ‘zombie-like state’, having no energy to do even the simplest tasks.

She said: "I started to have severe hand tremors, fainting and continuous headaches, and was unable to show emotion at all, even following the death of my mum. I knew something was wrong, but didn’t know what else I could do."

Helen was reminded of the daughter of a former work colleague who had a similar misdiagnosis until she went for an eye test, prompting Helen to book one herself.

Aaron Ahmed, the pre-reg optometrist involved in Helen’s diagnosis who completed her sight test at Selby Specsavers said: "We’re so grateful we managed to spot the inconsistencies in Helen’s eyes and could refer her onto the treatment she needed. Many people believe their sight and vision are okay and don’t understand the importance that regular eye exams can do for overall health’.

Following diagnosis, Helen was in surgery exactly one week later at Hull Royal Infirmary where they removed all but a small amount of the tumour which had attached itself to her optical nerve. She was told she had Grade 1 Olfactory Groove Meningioma, a non-cancerous type of brain tumour which grows slowly.

Following surgery, Helen’s headaches and other symptoms immediately improved and since her surgery in 2020, Helen joined a brain tumour support group and has noticed how alarming numbers of people shared similar circumstances with their GPs and misdiagnosis, and importantly found diagnosis through eye tests.

Previously benign injuries and ailments, such as unexplained and pin-pointed sore shoulders and a pulled rotator-cuff injury have now been linked to the brain tumour. Helen wants to raise awareness on the importance of eye exams and the role they can play in diagnosis and is encouraging people not to dismiss illness or injury, no matter how trivial they seem.

Helen said: "It’s really quite alarming how many people put up with or dismiss their illnesses. I just want to ensure that people are aware of the many health benefits an eye test can provide, by telling my story. My life could have been so different without the benefit of Specsavers professional services."

Janice Berry, practice manager at Selby Specsavers said: "We now have machines available in many stores capable of using light to take more than 1,000 images of the back of the eye and optic nerve.This allows us to pick up illnesses such as diabetic retinopathy, macular degeneration and glaucoma and in some rarer instances, brain tumours."