Woman Who Thought She Was Pregnant After Her Breasts Leaked Milk Actually Had Rare Brain Tumour

A UK woman who thought she was pregnant after her breasts began leaking milk, was left shocked when she learned she actually had a brain tumour.

It was late in 2011 when then 18-year-old Jessica Buck, from Carterton, Oxfordshire was diagnosed with prolactinoma – a tumour on the pituitary gland at the base of the brain.

The condition was causing an over-production of prolactin – the hormone which stimulates milk production after childbirth.

Jessica had just began sixth form when she started feeling exhausted, dizzy and suffered headaches, but the most worrying symptom for her was the milky fluid that leaked from her breasts every few days.

“I had to put tissue in my bra. I was working part time as a retail assistant and kept going to the bathroom, realising that my bra was damp.

“There was white, milky fluid coming from my breasts. I thought that was something that only happened to pregnant women.

“I started to put cotton wool pads or tissues inside my bra, which was embarrassing, as I was constantly trying to hide it. I spoke to my mum and asked, ‘Is this normal?’. She sent me straight to the doctor. I didn’t know what to think,” she said.

An MRI scan at Churchill Hospital, Oxford, revealed her worst nightmare. A non-cancerous pea-sized tumour was found on her pituitary gland. “When I heard the words brain and tumour in the same sentence, I barely listened to anything else. I was thinking about something much more sinister, so I did get quite upset,” Jessica said.

Doctors told her that her options were either to have surgery, or to take medication to control her symptoms and reduce the size of the tumour. Jessica chose the latter.

She was prescribed Cabergoline, which blocks prolactin secretion from the pituitary gland and, immediately, her symptoms became more controlled.

Although Jessica, now 24, feels like her condition is under control, she worries about what the future brings, fertility-wise. “A few months after the diagnosis, I was told that prolactinoma can cause fertility problems. I was so young when I was diagnosed that babies weren’t really on my radar, but I have always wanted to be a mum. It is something that is so important to me,” she said.

She added that although she has read online that some people with the same condition as hers went on to have kids, but what worried her was that if she was pregnant, she would have to stop taking her treatments, making her ill again. “There are different medications that aren’t as effective, but I would really have to work with my team and have a plan in place before trying to get pregnant,” Jessica said.

For now, nothing is stopping Jessica from making the most of life.

Last year, she gave up her job as an estate agent to travel the world. She went white water rafting in Colorado, flying in a helicopter over the Grand Canyon and speed boating in Miami. She already went to Europe this year and plans to visit a total of 25 countries before she turns 25 in January, writing everything in her blog.

Jessica has recently become an ambassador for the Pituitary Foundation, which is a national support and information organisation for pituitary patients, their families, friends and carers.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk