Rotherham mum’s remarkable brain tumour mum breakthrough

Michelle Steers, a 55-year-old mother of three from Rotherham, underwent a four-hour craniotomy at Sheffield’s Royal Hallamshire Hospital to remove a benign meningioma. She had experienced persistent pulsating head pain, headaches, earache and speech difficulties, and had stopped working as a bus driver. The operation was elective: she said the tumour could potentially have been left untreated, but her symptoms had become too disruptive. She was discharged home later that day, around 12 hours after going to theatre, instead of the usual several days’ post-operative stay for comparable surgery.

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals described the case as a significant advance in its brain-tumour care, saying same-day discharge following this type of operation is uncommon and that the trust was believed to be the second in the UK to achieve it. Consultant neurosurgeon Veejay Bagga said the result depended on the tumour being favourably positioned, Steers being well before surgery, and careful support and counselling before and afterwards; it does not imply that same-day discharge would be appropriate for all brain-tumour patients. Steers reported that she was pain-free after surgery and considering a return to work. The hospital’s neuro-oncology service had also retained Tessa Jowell Centre of Excellence accreditation for brain-tumour treatment, care and research.