While taking a selfie while on vacation in New York, Megan Troutwine spotted an oddity in the photo that led to the diagnosis of a brain tumor.
- While taking a selfie, Megan Troutwine noticed her eye was drooping and decided to make an appointment with a neurologist.
- Tests revealed that she had a meningioma.
- It is a benign brain tumor. However, it was particularly aggressive and could cause lesions as it grew.
If 379 people died taking a selfie between January 2008 and July 2021, this gesture saved the life of Megan Troutwine. It allowed him to diagnose a brain tumor.
Tumor: selfie reveals a sign of meningioma
In 2016, while traveling in New York, the Florida resident decided to take a photo of herself with her smartphone. While observing the photo, she notices that the eyelid of her right eye seems to be drooping. “I’m like, ‘oh, that’s weird. This photo looks weird“, remembers Megan Troutwine on the Fox 13 channel.
When she returned from vacation, she decided to consult a neurologist. Fifteen minutes after having an MRI, she learned that she had a meningioma. While this brain tumor is classified as benign, it is found to be particularly aggressive and likely to cause dangerous brain damage as it grows.
The doctors therefore decided to operate to remove this mass. The patient had to undergo a second surgery and undergo 23 rounds of radiotherapy when the medical team noticed that the tumor had once again progressed. “Dealing with the cognitive issues and the memory loss and that sort of thing, that was probably the hardest, because I know I’m smarter than that.”confides the patient.
She has a mutation in the PTEN gene.
During these treatments, Megan’s doctor, Dr. Mokhtari discovered another primary brain tumor. This time it was a glioma. “It was very smallexplains the health professional. And as we follow it over the years, we see a small increase in size.” Examinations also revealed that the American carried a mutation in the PTEN gene which exposes her to an increased risk of several cancers. She is therefore monitored very regularly. This has avoided even more health concerns. serious. “Her uterine cancer was detected very quickly”says Dr Mokhtari. “And she also had lumps and biopsies of her breasts. Luckily, none of them were cancerous.”
Despite these health concerns, Megan remains positive: “I’ve lost so many friends to meningioma and, you know, there are over 40 different types of brain tumors”. “I pray that I see a cure in my lifetime. And you know, it might not happen, but at the same time, being a small piece of a big puzzle that helps make it happen is really, really cool ”, she adds. In addition, she now works in the center that treats her as a volunteer health unit coordinator. She supports and advises other patients in their care journey.
