Glasgow gran says benign brain cyst almost led to dementia diagnosis

A Glasgow grandmother has been recounting her long health battle, and how a benign growth in her brain almost led to her being diagnosed with dementia.

78 year old Christine Furniss first noticed something was wrong in 2021 - when words and memories started becoming more and more difficult.

Speaking to Clyde 1 News, Christine said: "My speech was bad, I wasn't saying what I thought I was saying. Everything was a mess. If somebody spoke to me, it didn't always make sense. Everything was getting quite confused".

"I think people were thinking, oh, she's just getting old, there's some memory loss there. But it got worse, and I was forgetting a lot more than most people would forget...we were all convinced it was dementia, nothing you can do about it."

Christine's daughter, Emma Furniss, also spoke to Clyde 1, recounting the toll the experience has taken on her and her siblings:

"We were pretty much sure this was the road to dementia, based on her symptoms and cognitive results. The impact of that is horrible. The beginning of the end, that's what you kind of feel...you could see her, every day, getting worse."

However, years of tests by doctors and neuropsychologists revealed an arachnoid cyst in Christine's brain had unexpectedly grown - and was causing her dementia symptoms.

The cyst was first discovered by doctors in 2005 during other tests, but Christine said it never worried her at the time or in the years since, as she knew it was benign.

"I've always had that, and I knew it didn't do anything, so it didn't worry me," Christine told Clyde 1.

In 2024, it was eventually decided that draining the cyst of its excess fluid would be the best course of action.

Christine recalled the feeling of euphoria that overcame her when she awoke from the surgery the next morning:

"I could speak. Somebody spoke to me and I could understand what she was saying, which was a surprise to me, and I answered her, waiting for the usual reaction, but she understood what I was saying. It's been brilliant ever since."

Emma, 47, couldn't believe the difference in her Mum after the surgery:

"The difference was night and day. She was so bubbly and awake and aware, knowing names, recognising everyone. It was amazing."

Christine is the first known UK case where her arachnoid cyst's unexpected growth was the cause of her issues with speech, language and memory.

Researchers are now writing a paper on Christine's experience - considering different ways to look at this kind of cyst in relation to potential dementia cases going forward.

"I'm so glad they found it and made be better, because it will make other people better, and that's the main thing," Christine said. "I'm glad I went through it now, because if it does help other people, I'll be quite happy with that."

Emma added: "If they knew what they know now, my Mum could've had the cyst recognised at the start...we started this journey with a nightmare, but we woke up from it."

Hear the latest news on Clyde 1 on FM, DAB, smart speaker or the Rayo app.