Overview
- McCall said doctors removed a 14mm benign colloid cyst from her brain in 2024 and that follow-up scans showed the tumour had gone.
- She described immediate post-operative confusion as feeling like “advanced Alzheimer’s,” saying she could not remember staff, visitors or that she had even had surgery.
- For months after the operation McCall could not follow films or recall the previous page of a book, which she says made 2025 the hardest year for her and her husband.
- She credits structured singing lessons and music-based exercises as her “mind physio,” saying her memory began to improve in October 2025 when she first regained day-to-day recall.
- While recovering from the brain surgery McCall found a breast lump, had a lumpectomy and short radiotherapy in late 2025, received an all clear in April 2026, and has gradually returned to work.