“Grey’s Anatomy” actress Kate Walsh revealed on Monday, September 18th that she was diagnosed with a Brain Tumor in 2015. The actor revealed she decided to go public after two years of the tumor diagnoses to help spread awareness about brain cancer, especially about the type of tumor that mostly affects women. The actress was diagnosed with a meningioma. This is basically a tumor that grows from the lining that envelops the brain and the spinal cord. Within 3 days of the diagnosis, the actress was placed under surgery to remove the tumor from her cranium.

The surgery was performed at LA’s Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. Doctors later confirmed that the tumor in her brain was benign.

The “Grey’s Anatomy” actress was joined by other doctors and her co-star Patrick Dempsey who starred in medical drama to encourage people to have annual brain health checkups. The whole campaign was launched by Cigna. Kate further stated that she was relieved once she knew that her tumor was operable. She further advised people to trust their body and instincts during such situations.

Walsh talks about tumor diagnosis during awareness campaign

Walsh revealed that initially she went into shock when her MRI results showed the tumor in her brain. In January 2015, the 49-year-old actress had waived off the symptoms of the tumor nesting in her brain as exhaustion in the aftermath of producing, as well as starring in the series “Bad Judge.” Kate stated that during those days, she found it hard to focus on the work she was doing and also found that her sense of balance was misplaced.

Apart from these symptoms, the actress also suffered from severe headaches. Her Pilates instructor was the one who noticed the actress leaning more on her right side.

However, when the situation deteriorated, Walsh consulted a neurologist. In June 2015, during her consultation with the neurologist, the doctor noticed a slight drooping on the right side of her face.

It was then that the doctors suspected and found the tumor in her brain. At the time of discovery, the tumor was a little over 5 cms long and was pushing into the frontal lobe of her brain.

How dangerous is meningioma?

Although Walsh played a senior doctor in “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Private Practice” she was aghast when doctors revealed that they had found a meningioma in her brain. Meningiomas are a type of brain tumor that are most likely to affect women. These tumors are slow growing and most of the time turn out to be non-cancerous.