Family of West Lothian teenager believed he was 'at it' and trying to avoid school before shock tumour diagnosis

dailyrecord.co.uk:

The family of a teenage boy who thought he was ‘at it’ when he asked to stay off school were left shocked after he was given a brain tumour diagnosis.For two years, Callum Scott (13), was plagued by sore heads in the morning and said it felt like his skull ‘was going to burst’.But it wasn’t until the teenager, from Livingston, told his family in February 2022 that he could only see colour from one eye that they decided to take him to an optician.Callum was then referred to hospital and his family were devastated to learn he had a tumour ‘almost the size of a golf ball’ that had been growing for five years.Callum’s aunty, Ashley Moore (32) told the Daily Record: “We thought Callum was at it.

He had just started high school and we thought he was a typical teenager and he didn’t want to go."It wasn’t apparent that there was a problem until he started having problems with his eyesight.

That led to the appointment with the opticians, which was when it was found there was a tumour present. He was sent straight to the hospital.”Medics diagnosed Callum with Craniopharyngioma, a rare benign tumour that affects around two in every two million people each year.It begins in the pituitary gland at the base of the brain and can put pressure on the nerves, blood vessels or brain tissue.

Since his diagnosis seven months ago, the schoolboy has had surgery twice, with his most recent operation to remove the 42mm lump last week.Surgeons were able to remove 95 per cent of Callum’s tumour and he will receive radiotherapy sessions to remove the remainder of the tissue.