Oh no, poor Davina McCall.

[user876477]

She does so much to promote women’s health issues. So sad to hear she has a brain tumour. It shows that you really never know what is around the corner. It sounds like it’s operable and as positive as it can be in the circumstances but I’m really sad for her.

no real point to the post I know but..

'Benign' brain tumours, no matter how small, mine thankfully was less than 1mm and still impacted on my life, does have a consequence on people's quality of life.

It's actually a misconception that benign brain tumours are not dangerous. They can be just as dangerous as cancerous brain tumours if left untreated, and can cause the same symptoms. It's just that they grow more slowly and are less invasive within the brain. My Dad had a glioblastoma, which was cancerous and terminal, which is how I know I bit about brain tumours.

Actually a doctor pretty well said that to me. His words were, "If I had to choose a cancer this is the one I'd choose." I have to confess I was a bit taken aback but I think he was trying to be reassuring.

Well quite. If you put me in a room and said "the only way you are getting out is with GBM or a colloid cyst", I'd choose the cyst. But I'd prefer not have to have either! Other than having something injected into my eyes, I can't think of anything worse than brain surgery. Hopefully as she's fit and healthy and they found it early, she will come through it well.

The DIL of a friend of my mum's has a benign tumour. It has been removed once but it grew back. She decided not to have further surgery as there was a high chance of losing her sight so they are just keeping an eye on it.

As someone said, they are not really benign.

Brain tumours are responsible for the greatest number of cancer deaths for people under 40. (and only gets 2% of cancer research funding - I'm told because of poor prognosis)

Yes it gets very little funding - I think it also gets put in the "too hard" box, it's much easier to research cures on organs you can remove, or remove bits of.

Is that the reason why brain cancer research is so poorly funded? Well, with that attitude, things won't ever improve. Seems totally illogical to me and depressing, having seen my Dad suffer with a GBM and cared for him until the end. I despair!

I saw her video and yes it must be very scary for her. Benign doesn't mean that the tumour cannot leave you with deficits and any brain surgery carries risks. I wish some on here could just wish her a straightforward op and speedy recovery rather than dismissing her condition as little more than a minor inconvenience. Have some compassion rather than saying she should be happy it is not a Glioblastoma. I wish her well

Any space occupying lesion in the brain can be serious and potentially life threatening if it causes pressure in certain areas. Also removal is hazardous.
Neurosurgery is really scary.

I hope she isn't reading this thread. It isn't exactly positive

I notice that the people who are the most factual and straightforward on this thread tend to be people with direct experience of brain tumours and cysts. The doctor will go through the risks of surgery and likely prognosis with her, so she will be very clear-eyed about this. She will know there are worse things, but she will also know 'benign' isn't always 'benign'- you can google the stats on survival yourself if you want these days. I'm sure she has people around her that can be encouraging and upbeat taking their cue from her, it's also true that lots of people with diagnoses especially cancer end up with a toxic positivity around them where they can't express their fears or be realistic about the prognosis, even if it's quite favourable.

My cousin had the exact same tumour. The removal surgery resulted in nerve damage and a stroke. It’s highly risky. Don’t be an arse.

Yes and that's how the the thread started out until the numpties came along and made stupid comments. People are clarifying because they're angry at the dismissiveness, not because they find some satisfaction in bringing up negative aspects.

I think people who have tumours/cancers/terminal or difficult diseases generally already know it's not going to be a walk in the park.

As I said, I wish Davina, and anyone else dealing with this sort of ill health, all the best. But no, I'm not going to sugarcoat everything on a discussion thread. Firstly because it's not necessarily helpful, and secondly because sadly that's not real life and sometimes facts need to be faced into, not brushed under the carpet.

Is it similar to what Martin Kemp had.

I think she's been brave to go into such detail to raise awareness of her tumour
Benign does not mean harmless.
As they grow they raise pressure which can cause loss of function and even life
I wish her well. I like her. She seems down to earth warm and genuine.

Poor Davina. Hope all goes well for her x

My daughter was diagnosed with this tumour last year, it was a big shock. Her neuro surgeon is monitoring it as it’s 2mm smaller than Davinas. She suffers from horrific headaches and hers was found by chance during an MRI scan. If a person is unaware that they have one it can be a ticking time bomb, they can fall into a coma, sometimes it causes sudden death.

The operation has many risks, from strokes, meningitis and seizures to name but a few. This is why the surgeon is opting for monitoring it at this stage. Davina will be aware of all the risks, but if it keeps growing there isn’t a choice.

As someone has said on here to calm down its not cancer, they obviously haven’t read all the risks associated with it and the dangers of the surgery, it’s bloody awful and a massive worry for myself and her dad, she’s only 28. Life is pretty shit at times 🥺

Oh well, that’s ok then. Nothing to worry about. FFS.

She said on her very sweet video explaining the situation that hers is 14mm.

💐

@1457bloom
Don't be ridiculous. Nothing whatsoever to do with the aetiology of this.

WTF

Wishing her well,recover quickly and back to see her on screen.