'Doctors weren't worried about my brain tumour- now it's terminal'

A woman who was told she had a non-cancerous brain tumour has now been given months to live.

Lizzie Pitt, 46, first realised something was wrong a year ago, when she was found on the floor of her Yorkshire Dales home by her son and was "acting weird".

A trip to Airedale General Hospital confirmed she had a brain tumour, but staff at Leeds General Infirmary later reassured the mum-of-two it was a "low grade" glioma and they were "not concerned".

Weeks after her surgery, it was revealed she in fact had a grade four glioblastoma brain tumour and would only live another 12 to 18 months with treatment.

Lizzie, from Hawkswick, had brain surgery while she was awake in April last year.

"It was daunting, but they were amazing at preparing me," she said.

"Then two weeks after my operation, I got a phone call from LGI saying, can you please come in? Your report's back.

"They said it was 90% grade two and 10% grade three, so I thought that sounded OK.

"I carried on, went back home, and told everyone it's not as bad as it could have been."

However, four weeks later Lizzie was called in again, while she was with her 17-year-old daughter Rowan.

"They said, we got it wrong. It's actually all grade four. It is glioblastoma, which means..." Lizzie explained.

"My daughter was just crying her eyes out, I tried to shut the conversation down because he started to talk about prognosis.

"I was in total shock and felt utterly let down. Glioblastoma had never once been mentioned."

The art teacher said she had always remained extremely positive but for the first time, she felt "stupid" for trusting the medical professionals.

Dr Magnus Harrison, chief medical officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said his thoughts were with Lizzie and her family during this time.

"I also offer my sincere apologies that information about her diagnosis was not clearly communicated," he said.

"The nature and true extent of glioblastoma can only be confirmed through a series of tests over a period of time in order to identify growth and change.

"This is a rare and aggressive form of cancer and unfortunately Lizzie's condition advanced quickly and she is now being supported by our cancer team for her ongoing care."

In spite of her prognosis, Lizzie has been making the most of every day with the support of her husband Al and their children Felix and Rowan.

Skipton Girls' High School, where Lizzie works, has been instrumental in fundraising for her, and staff have racked up more than £33,000 to go towards alternative treatments and daily costs.

"I'm not a dramatic person, but every milestone I'll be thinking, did I think I'd get to this?" Lizzie said.

"I do little recordings on my phone for if the inevitable happens, then there's some bit of me, which is quite a hard thing to do."

Ashley McWilliams, community development manager at Brain Tumour Research, said: "Lizzie's story highlights the urgent need for better diagnosis and more effective treatments for aggressive tumours like glioblastoma.

"Despite being one of the biggest cancer killers of children and adults under 40, brain tumours remain chronically underfunded."

The manager called for greater investment in research and expanded access to clinical trials so patients do not have to fundraise privately for potential treatment.

"Every donation helps us move closer to finding a cure and giving patients like Lizzie, and those diagnosed in the future, real hope," she added.

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