Seven-year-old diagnosed with brain cancer after ‘seeing spots’ had tumour so big it distorted the shape of her brain
The mum of a child diagnosed with a brain tumour so large it distorted the shape of her brain said it “opened (her) eyes” to the importance of children’s eye tests.
Sophie Evans, 35, from Tean, near Stoke-on-Trent, took her seven-year-old daughter Esmai to the opticians in January 2024 after the youngster complained that she could “see spots”.
They were told there were no problems but a year later, when Esmai experienced what looked like “a mini seizure”, Sophie took her back to the opticians and was told to go straight to A&E.
With Esmai now undergoing radiotherapy following a successful operation to remove the tumour, her mum hopes to encourage other parents to take their children’s eye health seriously.
“I don’t think anybody really thinks to take their children for eye tests,” Sophie told PA Real Life.
“I don’t think I would have done unless she said to me she was seeing spots.
In January 2024, Esmai started telling her mum that she was seeing spots.
Sophie said: “I took her to the opticians, and they found that everything was fine.”
Throughout 2024, Sophie recalled, Esmai would occasionally see spots, but it did not seem serious.
“Then at one point, she was walking towards me and her pupils went really small and she just zoned out.
“Then they suddenly shot really big, and she went, ‘oh, sorry Mom, I just saw spots again.’
“To me, that looked like a mini seizure.”
Sophie took Esmai back to the opticians in January 2025.
An MRI scan a few days later confirmed that Esmai had a “considerable” ependymoma growing in her brain.
“The tumour had actually grown so big over this time that the central line (of her brain) had shifted and curved,” Sophie said.
“They’re quite astounded that she didn’t have any other difficulties.
“She should have had something wrong.”
As a parent, Sophie said: “The first thing you think is that your child is going to die.
In February, Esmai underwent a seven-hour-long surgery to remove the tumour at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, which went “brilliantly”.
She has now begun an intensive programme of radiotherapy at the Proton Beam Therapy Centre in Manchester.
According to a recent study published by the Society for Neuro-Oncology, the kind of ependymoma that Esmai has comes with a roughly 35% chance of relapse within 10 years.
Sophie explained: “With cancer, whether you get free of it or not, it never leaves you, because you just don’t know if it’s ever going to come back.
“If it does, because of the strength and the type, it will be harder to get rid of.
Esmai has been responding to treatment well, but Sophie is still worried about the effect this experience may have on her.
“She’s blocked a lot of it out,” Sophie explained.
“But she does get very anxious now. She’ll say to me, ‘I’m feeling worried, and I don’t really know why.’
Sophie said Esmai “loves outdoor things” and is “very girly”.
She added: “She’s quite ahead of her time.
“I think she’s desperate to be older than what she is. She quite fancies herself as a teenager.”
Sophie, Esmai, and Sophie’s younger daughter Grace, aged two, have temporarily moved into hospital accommodation in Manchester while Esmai’s treatment is ongoing.
“It’s a little bit difficult with having a two-year-old. She thinks she’s on holiday – she’s having a great time,” Sophie said.
As a hairdresser, being away from home for the duration of Esmai’s treatment means that Sophie cannot work.
A friend and neighbour, Lisa, has raised more than £3,000 through a GoFundMe to support Sophie while Esmai is undergoing treatment.
Now, she said, she is “grateful” for the opportunity to give Esmai some “happy experiences” while her treatment continues.
“I’ve been able to take her out to the Sea Life Centre and bowling, and without it I wouldn’t have been able to do that,” she said.
“It means it’s not going to be just bad memories.”
The fundraiser for Esmai can be found at: www.gofundme.com/f/help-for-7-year-old-esmai-during-this-devastating-time.