The brave Herefordshire mum blogging about her cancer journey

Shelley Folkes, who has worked as an A&E nurse for 20 years, had the tumour removed in February just weeks after suffering what she’d initially thought were migraines.

The 44-year-old, who is now undergoing six-and-a-half weeks of radiotherapy in Hereford, has been documenting her treatment on Facebook under the name "Not Right in the Head".

The Ledbury mum said blogging has fulfilled two purposes for her.

“I’ve treated it like a diary - it’s been a bit of therapy for me. I’m also trying to increase awareness of brain tumours, which are the number one cancer killer of people under 40.”

Shelley says she’s only been able to pinpoint her symptoms retrospectively - pain in the back of her head, water lines in her peripheral vision and “swimmy, almost out of body moments” - and admits she could easily have not sought medical help.

Shelley underwent an operation to remove her brain tumour in February

Eventually, a couple of “real bring-you-to-your-knees” headaches persuaded her to see her GP - and an initial diagnosis of a stroke after a CT scan showed an abnormality.

She then underwent multiple tests including a lumbar puncture before an MRI scan showed the tumour.

“I joke that I got upgraded from a stroke to a brain tumour,” said Shelley.

“I just remember sitting there in a state of shock, thinking ‘I can’t believe this is happening’ but I didn’t cry.

“Then they did a CT tap, which is to check the rest of the body. Those 24 hours were quite tough. I remember thinking ‘I can deal with having a brain tumour but not being riddled and having only months to live’. It’s amazing how your perspective changes.”

Shelley is undergoing radiotherapy treatment in Hereford

Shelley’s care was transferred to Birmingham, where she underwent an operation called an awake craniotomy as doctors were worried about how close the tumour was to her brain’s speech centre.

“It’s actually not quite as bad as it sounds. They wake you up during the operation to repeat tests they’d previously done before the operation, but I was very drowsy with the effects of the painkillers and anaesthesia.”

Shelley praised her daughters, Lola and Jasmine, for how they’ve coped and said she’d been “blown away” by the support of her friends.

“It’s restored my faith in humanity,” she said.