Mum says docs blamed strange taste on menopause - then she was diagnosed with brain tumour

A FITNESS instructor plagued by the smell and taste of ginger claims doctors told her this was due to the menopause - but then she was diagnosed with a deadly brain tumour.

In June 2016 Cheryl Byron, 53, began experiencing a gingery smell and taste up to 17 times a day which would leave her feeling dizzy and disorientated.

The mum-of-one claims she visited her GP five times in six months but was told she had burning mouth syndrome, a condition brought on by the menopause.

But when Mrs Byron collapsed at home in Prestatyn, North Wales, on January 5 this year an MRI scan revealed a cancerous brain tumour and she has now been given 12 to 18 months to live.

Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUBH) - the body responsible for Healthy Prestatyn Iach which runs Cheryl's GP surgery - said they could not comment on an individual case due to patient confidentiality.

Mrs Byron said: "I had been going through menopause for two and a half years and I had breezed through it but then I started to get this strange taste and smell.

"It was very weird, not really like anything I have tasted before, but it would make my lips and tongue burn. I would be gulping for air - it felt like I was suffocating.

"Not long before it started I had been drinking a drink with a lot of ginger in it and it gave me a tummy bug so I thought maybe I'd given myself some kind of phobia of ginger.

"These episodes - I started to call them my fabulous moments - would leave me feeling really out of it, I would be dizzy and disorientated and they could happen up to 17 times a day.

"The doctor told me it was burning mouth syndrome which was linked to me going through menopause.

"I had never heard of it before and when I did some research nothing came up about women having a taste or a smell but I believed my doctor, of course you do - you respect the profession.

"Then last month, I woke up one morning and as I tried to make my way to the light switch, I collapsed and hit my head on the mirror. When I tried to get up, I fell again into a chest of drawers.

"I was taken to A&E where they found this shadow on my brain. Just a few days later a specialist confirmed it was a huge tumour that had been there for about eight months.

"And last week I found out I haven't got very long left to live. It was a hell of a shock. Looking back now, it beggars belief that my doctor didn't even think to check for a tumour. It's appalling."

Scans after Mrs Byron was rushed to A&E at Glan Clwyd Hospital revealed the stage four glioblastoma brain tumour - an extremely aggressive form of the disease.

Surgeons attempted to remove the tumour in a gruelling eight hour operation on January 13, but a follow up scan last week showed the cancer is still spreading.

The only options left for Mrs Byron, who lives with her husband Jack Byron, 69, and daughter Jamie-Lee Byron, 27, are chemotherapy and radiotherapy in a bid to extend her life.

Mrs Byron said: "When we found out last Thursday that the cancer was still spreading after the surgery it was devastating. The worst for me was seeing my dad, husband and daughter completely break down.

"I've tried to be strong and hold it together but I had my first real wobble a few days ago when I was watching TV and a mum was giving away her daughter at her wedding.

"It's the first time I realised I won't get to do that and I couldn't stop crying."

Despite the devastating news, Mrs Byron, who starts radiotherapy and chemotherapy this week, is trying to stay positive and spend the time she has left making memories.

The mum has written a bucket list which includes seeing Manchester United play from a private box, going to an Ed Sheeran gig, seeing a West End musical and going to Wimbledon.

A BCUBH spokesman said: "We are unable to comment on individual cases due to patient confidentiality.

"We would urge anybody with concerns around the care they have received to contact the health board directly so that we can further investigate their treatment."