I was told my numb fingers were down to carpal tunnel syndrome but now I’m facing a death sentence

A MUM who was told her numb fingers were caused by carpal tunnel syndrome has now been told she has two years to live.

Claire Shipp, 43, never imagined her symptoms could in fact be caused by a fast-growing and incurable brain tumour.


She is hoping to extend her life with private treatment in Germany or the US that the NHS cannot offer.

Claire, mum to one, said:  “The hardest part about all this is I have a funny, bright, caring nine-year-old son who is a mummy’s boy and light of my life and it breaks my heart that I won’t be there to see him grow up, to be there for him as he navigates life’s ups and downs.

“Because of him I am determined to fight this as hard as I can.”

Claire, of Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, first starting getting “funny sensations” in her left hand in October 2021.

She said: “One of my fingers went numb. It felt a bit like getting a weird electric shock and I went to the doctor and they said they thought it sounded like carpal tunnel.

“My life was completely normal apart from my hand doing weird things. It was my middle finger on my left hand.

“The numbness did start to spread but again that can happen with carpal tunnel, then I got tingling on the left hand side of my face, but it was only once every so often.

“You’d never think of a brain tumour.”

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Carpal tunnel syndrome is a common but painful condition where the nerves to the hand get trapped, causing tingling and numbness.

It can get better on its own, but Claire was told to wear a wrist splint which helps to relieve pressure on the nerves. 

But around Christmas she noticed her face and arm going numb too and another doctor told her it may simply be that she had developed a certain type of migraine.

However on Boxing Day she had a seizure, and then another on January 3 and decided to call 999.

She had to go to Luton and Dunstable University Hospital without her husband Julian, 51, due to Covid regulations, where she was given a CT scan.

Claire said: “I was sat there thinking ‘I’m sure it’s nothing, but an hour or so later they came and got me and took me into a room.

“Alarm bells started to ring and she said ‘I’m really sorry, but we’ve found something on your brain, but as it’s only a CT scan we can’t tell what it is.’

“I had to sit in a corridor for the next four hours as they didn’t have a bed for me because I needed an MRI.

“I sat there crying – it was horrible, one of the worst nights of my life.

"Then told me they’d found a tumour and it might be malignant.”

Claire was referred to the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London who confirmed the diagnosis of an astrocytoma.

The worst part was when they cut my skull. I could hear the vibration and hear the sound. In my mind I was screaming. I was visualising my family and my son

The cancerous tumour was two inches in size and above the right ear, although the growth can also affect the spine.

It causes weakness in the limbs or difficulty grasping, headaches, changes in vision, speech problems and seizures.

Because it is grade 4, the tumour is categorised as a glioblastoma, which has an average survival time of 12 to 18 months. 

Doctors said they wanted to do brain surgery on Claire as quickly as possible – and her first thought was her nine-year-old son. 

Claire said: “I wrote a letter to my son in case something happened as there was a chance I could have a big bleed and that would be it.”

On January 18 she had the six-hour operation, during which she was awake the whole time.

She was kept awake so that surgeons could test her reactions continually to make sure that removing the tumour wasn’t damaging the healthy parts of her brain.

Claire said: “ I managed to stay calm somehow, I just thought ‘I have to do this.’

“My brain was mapped and there were ten people in the room. They were all assessing as they went along. 

“The worst part was when they cut my skull.

“I could hear the vibration and hear the sound. It was knowing what they were doing. When they were doing it, in my mind I was screaming. I was visualising my family and my son.”

A week later, after the tumour was analysed, Claire was told it was incurable and even though they had moved most of it, it would grow back – and fast.

She has since changed her diet and lifestyle but pins her hopes on immunotherapy, which the NHS doesn’t currently offer because it is still in trials.

Claire’s sister has organised a fundraising drive for her and hopes to make £100,000 to send her abroad for treatment.

Claire is also fundraising on Facebook and GoFundMe and has so far gathered £10,000.

She said: “I dont have the luxury of time. The fundraising is ambitious, but it’s giving me something positive to cling on to and focus my attention on.

“I want to be one of those people who somehow beats the odds and takes charge of my life – I’m doing anything I can to help myself.”

To donate to Claire’s cause visit this link.



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