A woman ended up making a shocking discovery after taking a selfie near to Times Square.
Like all tourists, Megan Troutwine snapped a selfie during the trip to remember the moment.
But when she looked back at the picture, she noticed that something seemed a bit off.
Megan noticed that one of her eyes appeared to be drooping slightly in the picture.
It might seem innocuous, but she was worried that the change could be linked a series of cognitive problems she had recently had.
In 2016, she booked an appointment with her doctor, who then went on to refer her to a neurologist for further assessment.
Unfortunately after going for several tests, it transpired that Megan’s gut feeling about her drooping eye had been absolutely right.
Not only that, but it was actually a sign of something very serious.
Following the tests, medics found that Megan had a large tumour on her brain.
Recalling when she first saw her eye dropping, she said: “I’m like, ‘oh, that’s weird. That picture looks weird.’ Little did I know.”
Fortunately, the tumour was benign – but aggressive – and doctors were able to treat it by removing it, which was followed by another surgical procedure and 23 rounds of radiotherapy after doctors discovered more growth.
But while carrying out this treatment at Moffitt Cancer Center, medics also found a more dangerous tumour called a glioma, which can lead to brain damage.
Megan has said that the worst part of it has been dealing with the cognitive issues that resulted.
She told Fox 13: “Dealing with the cognitive issues and dealing with the memory loss and stuff like that, that was probably the hardest, because I know that I’m smarter than that.
“I’m more capable than that. I can do more. But, it’s learning how to give myself the grace in the midst, too.”
Neuro-Oncologist Dr Sepideh Mokhtari recalled first finding the tumour, saying: “It was very tiny.
“And as we are following it over the years, we are seeing a little bit of increase in size over time.”
However, Megan considers herself lucky.
She added: “A low-grade glioma is like a blessed juxtaposition, I guess you could say, because it’s like you’re on a cliff, and you know what’s going to happen.
“You know it will progress. You will have to do treatment for it. You know it may very well be what could jeopardize your mortality in the future.
“But, you know, at the same time, you’re like waiting for it to do something.”
Since then, Megan has regular checkups with her doctor after the discovery of a PTEN gene mutation that makes her more susceptible to other cancers – which her doctors have luckily caught early.
Grateful for the care she received, Megan also took up the roles of a Health Unit Coordinator and volunteer Comfort Companion for the center that treated her, adding: “It’s even more of an honor to be able to pay back that love and to contribute to making it better for everyone else, too.”