Published Aug 6, 2026

32-Year-Old Woman Thought Her Recurring Pain Was From Stress & Migraines—It Was From A Slow-Growing Brain Tumor

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Understanding Meningioma Tumors

Charley Ross, a 33-year-old U.K. journalist, discovered that the unusual pain and pulsing sensations she initially attributed to stress and migraines were caused by a meningioma brain tumor. Now she’s sharing her story to highlight the importance of self-advocacy.
Meningioma tumors arise from the meninges the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord. Doctors recommend that you see a doctor if you have the sudden onset of seizures or changes in vision or memory as it could be a meningioma; most of the time, meningioma symptoms develop slowly over time but sometimes can require emergency care. Other symptoms may include headaches, dizziness, or weakness in the arms and legs.
Brain tumors account for 85-90% of all primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors, according to the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).
When it comes to brain tumors, as new treatment approaches are continually being explored through clinical trials, the standard of care for glioblastoma has remained largely consistent since 2005. It combines maximal safe surgical resection (surgery to remove as much of the cancer as possible) followed by chemotherapy and radiation.
If you have a health screening coming up or have recently had one, you may have questions you want answered. SurvivorNet’s proprietary AI tool “My Health Questions” is designed specifically for patients and caregivers.

Charley Ross, a U.K.-based journalist, was 32 years old when she began experiencing persistent pain and an “aggressive pulsing” sensation throughout her body. Believing the symptoms were linked to stress and migraines, she was shocked to learn they were actually caused by a slow-growing brain tumor known as a meningioma—a type of growth that develops from the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.

Sharing her story in The Times, a British daily national newspaper based in London, Ross, now 33, has detailed her cancer journey with hope to inspire other women to advocate for themselves and seek answers when something doesn’t feel right about their health.

Ross recounted experiencing alarming episodes of intense pulsing and numbness on the right side of her body while traveling in Australia and again, after returning home to London.

“Episodes like these occur more and more over the next six months. I try not to ignore them, booking appointments with the doctors to discuss the odd sensations I’m feeling,” she wrote, noting how one of her male doctors said one of her pain “episodes” were “triggered by doing work emails on the [train] platform before boarding” and advised her to “avoid multitasking.”

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After repeated episodes led to emergency care and medical visits, Ross was initially diagnosed with hemiplegic migraines, but one doctor ordered an MRI that ultimately helped uncover the real cause of her symptoms.

Following another MRI scan, Ross learned from a neurosurgeon that she had a meningioma, a type of brain tumor, and would need to undergo a craniotomy—a surgical procedure where doctors remove part of the skull and resect [take out] the tumor.

“This involves a group of surgeons temporarily removing a section of my skull called the bone flap, to access and operate on my brain. The surgery risks are: stroke, loss of speech, loss of the use of the right side of my body and — the big one — death. Plus, they might have to shave my hair. The horror,” she explained.

“They tell me that they believe the tumor to be benign, but if it’s left unchecked, it will grow to a size too large for surgical intervention. Could it kill me? The neurologist looks at me and says simply: the more it grows, the less they can do for me.”

She ultimately decided to move forward with surgery six and a half weeks later, taking the earliest available appointment.

Following the procedure, surgeons were able to successfully remove the entire tumor.

“That was six months ago. I wish I could tell you that what has followed has been miraculous and easy. Recovery has been slow, frustrating, humbling, an education. The fatigue remains the most overwhelming symptom,” Ross explained, before stressing the importance of being one’s own advocate.

“I think about the doctors who dismissed my complaints and symptoms. I wonder often if the GP and medical students who booked my MRI know that they may have saved my life with their care,” she continued.

“I can’t help but feel frustrated, angry and frightened that I had to fight so hard to be taken seriously. … While I’m proud of advocating for myself, I feel beyond concerned at the extent that I had to — and grateful for my parents’ and boyfriend’s help encouraging me to follow up again with doctors.”

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A post shared by Charley Ross (@charleyross)

Promoting her Times article in a recent Instagram post, Ross wrote, alongside a screenshot of her story, “Gulp. Today I’m in @thetimes telling my story of brain tumor diagnosis and surgery – and the struggle to get there.”

Ross then urged her followers to read her story, which details the emotional journey of undergoing a craniotomy, from the anxiety and anticipation before surgery to her recovery and personal reflections afterward.

She explained that a key reason for sharing her experience was to bring attention to medical misogyny and the struggles many women encounter when they feel their symptoms are dismissed or overlooked while seeking medical care.

Understanding Meningiomas, Symptoms, & When To See Your Doctor

Meningiomas aren’t technically brain tumors, Dr. Suriya Jeyapalan, director of medical neuro-oncology at Tufts Medical Center in Boston, Mass., previously told SurvivorNet; they are tumors that arise from the meninges the membranes that surround the brain and spinal cord. But the tumors can compress or squeeze the adjacent brain, nerves and vessels.

Most brain tumors aren’t actually cancerous, according to the American Brain Tumor Association. Less than one third about 32% of brain tumors are considered cancerous, or malignant.

If the tumor is made up of “normal-looking cells,” that means the tumor is benign. However, those kinds of tumors may still require surgery.

The signs and symptoms of a meningioma depend on its location, according to the National Cancer Institute, and may even be subtle at first.

Even though a meningioma isn’t technically a brain tumor, the symptoms are relatively the same as other brain tumors, such as a glioblastoma. The symptoms of a brain tumor, or even brain cancer if the tumor is malignant, can frequently and easily change, Jeyapalan tells SurvivorNet.

“But for I think this is the take home message for I think a lot of patients: Brain cancer is actually really rare,” Jeyapalan explained. “Lung cancer, breast cancer, colon cancer, are much more common.”

“Everybody’s always scared about getting their brain tumor and, you know, ‘Oh, should I be using my cell phone or what not,’ and I tell them, ‘No, you should be much more scared about the fact that you’re, you know, you’re hypertensive, you’re diabetic, you have high cholesterol, you’re overweight, you’re not exercising enough,” she added.

Symptoms can include:

Changes in vision seeing double or blurriness
Headaches, especially ones that are worse in the morning
Hearing loss
Memory loss or confusion
Loss of smell
Seizures

It’s recommended that you see a doctor if you have the sudden onset of seizures, or changes in vision or memory as it could be a meningioma; most of the time, meningioma symptoms develop slowly over time, but sometimes can require emergency care.

Make an appointment with your doctor if you feel you have symptoms, such as headaches that worsen over time, that concern you. But most times, meningiomas are only discovered on scans for reasons that turn out to be unrelated to the tumor.

Making Sense of a Brain Tumor Diagnosis

According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), brain tumors account for 85-90% of all primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors. They can either be cancerous (malignant) or non-cancerous (benign), and depending on where the tumor forms on the brain, doctors determine its type, potential symptoms, and potential treatment.

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Signs and Symptoms of Brain Tumors

Brain tumors impact a person’s brain function and overall health, depending on their size, type, and location within the brain. Tumors that grow big enough and disrupt normal central nervous system functioning can press on nearby nerves, blood vessels, or other tissues. The disrupted central nervous system can present in various ways, making walking or maintaining balance difficult.

However, it’s important to know that brain tumors do not always cause symptoms.

Other signs of brain tumors may include:

Headaches
Difficulty speaking or thinking
Weakness
Behavioral changes
Vision changes
Seizures
Loss of hearing
Confusion
Memory loss

Types of Cancerous and Non-Cancerous Brain Tumors

A brain tumor can affect you differently depending on its location and if it is cancerous. Some brain tumors are non-cancerous (or benign). According to the National Cancer Institute, some examples of these types of brain tumors include:

Chordomas are primarily benign and slow-growing and are often found near the tailbone or where the spine meets the skull.
Craniopharyngiomas are rare, slow-growing tumors that don’t spread to other parts of the brain or body. They form near the pituitary gland near the base of the brain.
Gangliocytomas are rare tumors of the central nervous system that tend to form on the temporal lobe (the left or right side of the brain).
Glomus jugulare are rare and slow-growing tumors.
Meningiomas are rare brain tumors that usually form on the outer layer of tissue that covers the brain (dura mater).
Pineocytomas are rare and slow-growing tumors located in the pineal gland near the middle of the brain.
Pituitary adenomas are slow-growing brain tumors of the anterior pituitary located in the lower part of the brain.
Schwannomas are rare tumors that grow on the cells that protect nerve cells. They are called Schwann cells.
Acoustic neuromas (vestibular schwannoma) are slow-growing tumors that develop from the nerves that help balance and hearing.

Other brain tumors are malignant or cancerous. These kinds of tumors include:

Gliomas are the most common form of cancerous and aggressive primary brain tumors.
Astrocytoma (glioma) forms in astrocytes (star-shaped cells). Depending on how aggressive or fast they grow and impact brain tissue, these tumors are classified into four grades.
Ependymomas are tumors classified into three grades depending on how aggressive or fast they grow.
Oligodendroglioma tumors are classified into grades depending on their growth speed. Grade 2 oligodendroglioma tumors are slow-growing and can invade nearby tissue, but they may not present symptoms for many years before detection. Meanwhile, grade 3 oligodendroglioma tumors proliferate.
Medulloblastoma tumors are classified into four different grades depending on their aggressive nature or how quickly they grow.
Glioblastoma, which is considered a central nervous system (CNS) tumor, is the most common and aggressive brain tumor in adults.

Treatments for Brain Tumors

Treatment options for brain cancer depend on a variety of factors, including the size and type of the tumor as well as the grade of the tumor.

Surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy are options doctors use to treat brain tumors. Cancer warriors are encouraged to talk to their doctor about their situation and the best treatment options.

The prognosis for brain cancer, or how likely it is to be cured, depends on a few things, including:

The type of brain tumor
How fast the brain tumor is growing
The tumor’s location
If there are DNA changes in the cells of the brain tumor
If the entire tumor can be removed with surgery
Your overall health

Your doctor will be able to help you understand your specific and unique circumstances and how they relate to your prognosis.

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