A woman’s ‘tingly’ and numb face turned out to be a brain tumor after it was revealed by an MRI for an unrelated back problem.
Amy Seager, 38, began noticing an odd numbness and tingling across the left side of her face.
The symptoms didn’t initially lead to a diagnosis. Instead, it was an MRI in March 2025—booked for a separate back issue—that unexpectedly revealed the cause: an acoustic neuroma, a benign tumour that grows on the nerve connecting the inner ear to the brain.
Amy later had surgery on 13 May 2025 at St George’s Hospital in Tooting, UK, to remove the tumour.
She is now monitored with scans twice a year, and her latest scan in March came back clear.
Following her experience, Amy has started fundraising for Brain Tumour Research, taking on a challenge to walk 200km over the course of May.
Amy, a branch manager for a hair and beauty wholesaler, said: “When I was told I had a brain tumor, I thought I was going to die.
“The brain tumor just crept up on me. I was just getting on with normal life, not realising I had this massive tumor in my head because I wasn’t being affected in big, obvious ways.”
Looking back, Amy believes there were earlier warning signs—particularly changes in her hearing—that she wishes she’d acted on sooner.
“When I look back now, I had reduced hearing in one ear so I should have gone to the doctors,” she said.
“But because it wasn’t impacting my daily life and wasn’t really causing any problems I just got on with things, but these were actually the symptoms of something so scary.”
In January 2025, the facial tingling and numbness became hard to ignore, prompting her to seek medical advice.
Her GP ruled out a stroke and facial palsy, and she was advised to come back if the sensation continued.
She said: “I felt like I had just been dismissed. I saw a nurse, who referred me to neurology in the community.
“The nurse phoned me the following week, telling me that neurology had rejected my referral and advised that I have cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
“How could they dismiss me without physically seeing me and assessing me for themselves?
“I requested a second opinion with another GP, but I never had that appointment because my scheduled MRI scan for my back problem came first.”
When the MRI results came back in March, Amy said she was stunned to be told that the scan at Kingston Hospital had shown an abnormality on her brain.
Soon afterwards, she underwent surgery to remove the tumour.
She added: “The operation went really well, although it resulted in me losing the hearing in my right ear – something the doctors had warned would happen.
“I thought half my world was going to be silent but it’s manageable and I’ve got cross aids, which are specialised devices for people with single-sided deafness, which really help.
“Because the tumor was attached to my facial nerve, they left a tiny sliver of the tumor there, because removal would have damaged the nerve irreparably, and I would be paralysed on one side of my face.”
Amy is now completing the 200k in May Your Way challenge in support of Brain Tumour Research. The initiative encourages participants to cover 200km in a way that suits them—whether that’s walking, running, cycling, or swimming—while fundraising for further research.
She said: “During my recovery, I walked absolutely everywhere to help get my balance get back on track.
“This cause is so close to my heart and it’s vital that research into brain tumors is properly funded.
“There are so many different types of brain tumor and there needs to be more awareness and more money to research this disease.
“Before I went through this massive surgery, I wasn’t an active person but now I go to the gym, and I’m walking 200km!”