Man left stunned after operation to remove a brain tumour leaves him with surprising side effect
A MAN was left stunned when his height shot up by more than a foot after having a tumour removed from his brain.
As a teenager, Jamie Connolly stood at 4ft 1ins.
He just thought he was ‘small for his age’, he told Birmingham Live.
The mental health care assistant from Rowley Regis, Black County, remembered being made fun of at school for his small stature.
But when he was 16, Jamie suffered a seizure while playing a video game.
MRI scans following the incident uncovered a slow-growing tumour in his brain.
He was diagnosed with a low-grade astrocytoma, the most common type of brain and spinal cord tumours found in children, according to Cancer Research UK.
Around 175 children are diagnosed with an astrocytoma each year in the UK, the charity states.
Jamie said: “I later found out the tumour was growing on a part of my brain responsible for important functions, including development and growth.”
Jamie, now aged 35, underwent an initial surgery to remove the mass in 2004 – and shot up by almost 18 inches in a matter of months .
Three more surgeries followed and the multiple attempts to remove Jamie’s slow growing tumour left him with changes to his vision, which he wears glasses for.
“Part of the tumour is still there as removing it all could have left me with paralysis,” he explained.
Jamie is now 5ft 7ins tall and is monitored by regular scans.
He said felt fortunate to only have a ‘low grade’ tumour.
Jamie shared his story in honour of Brain Tumour Awareness Month.
He plans to hold a drop in session for people to ask him questions about brain tumours as he said he knew little about them until he was diagnosed with one.
He pledged to help raise awareness about the disease for as long as he can.
Symptoms of brain tumours in children
Brain tumour symptoms can be very similar to those of childhood illnesses and can vary between children.
Cancer Research UK urged parents to take their kids to a GP if they have any of the following symptoms:
- headaches
- feeling or being sick
- seizures (fits)
- problems with their eyes or vision
- problems with their strength, balance or coordination
- changes in their behaviour
- problems with their posture
- delayed or stopped puberty
- head measuring larger than it should for a baby
Symptoms will depend on where the tumour is in the brain.
But you should remember that cancer in children is rare and these symptoms can be caused by many conditions – if in doubt, always get checked out.
The UK-based Brain Tumour Charity urged parents to visit a GP if their kid’s growth during childhood and puberty stops or is delayed, as it could be a symptom of a brain tumour.
But the charity emphasised that children will likely have other accompanying symptoms, including:
- delayed puberty
- excessive fluid intake (feeling very thirsty and drinking a lot)
- excessive urine (wee) production.
It’s not the first time someone has had an unusual growth spurt in connection to a tumour.
Dad Andrew Smith grew from 6ft 5in tall to 7ft 6in over six months before doctors diagnosed him with a pituitary tumour.