When I developed blurry vision, I blamed my mascara… then doctors discovered a golf ball-sized brain tumour – and they fear it was triggered by my contraceptive jab

A mother-of-one diagnosed with a golf ball-sized brain tumour has revealed how her doctors fear the disease was triggered by her contraceptive jab.

Shelley Whittaker, 47, initially thought her mascara was affecting her eyesight, causing blurry vision, in November 2024 and ‘laughed it off for a couple of months’ before eventually seeking further help.

In May the following year, after visiting an optician for a check–up, Ms Whittaker was referred to an eye clinic. 

There, she was diagnosed with a rare benign brain tumour, known as a spheno-orbital meningioma.

The health and hygiene worker from Bolton, Greater Manchester, was then stunned to be asked by her neurologist if she had ever used a contraceptive jab called medroxyprogesterone – commonly known by the brand name Depo-Provera.

After telling the doctor that she had been prescribed the jab for 15 years, Ms Whittaker says she was told to urgently stop taking it because of its links to tumours.

Now, after a 10-hour surgery where only 90 per cent of her tumour could be removed, Ms Whittaker says she would ‘never have carried on’ taking the injection if she knew the risks.

‘I used to encourage people to take it, like me,’ Ms Whittaker said. ‘It needs to be out there that there are risks if you’re a long term user of it.’ 

According to the NHS, being on a medroxyprogesterone contraceptive for more than three years may increase your chance of getting a meningioma, but this is said to be rare.

Ms Whittaker, whose left eye was ‘bulging’ after the growth, was forced to take six months off work to recover from her surgery.

‘I’d never think the contraceptive injections would’ve led to all this,’ the 47–year–old continued.

‘I’ve now got to live with this tumour for the rest of my life because they couldn’t take it all. I’ve got to try and forget that and carry on and try to live the life I’ve got left.

‘I was made aware of certain risks but not this. The main risk that they mentioned to me was weight gain and making sure you have plenty of calcium in your diet.’

She added: ‘I never had any problems. I had weight gain but I was aware of that. I just came across some blurred vision in my left eye. It felt like I had something in it.

‘I just laughed it off for a couple of months and said, ‘I’m going blind, I need to go to the opticians to get my eye checked’.’

Ms Whittaker said her diagnosis was a ‘complete shock’ but she was ‘very lucky to not fob it off anymore’. 

She added: ‘If I’d have left it a month longer, two months longer I could potentially have been blinded in my left eye.

‘My neurologist, when I went to see him in June, asked if I was on (the injection). He said “you need to stop it immediately and that there are links”.

‘The only option was surgery, it was quite complex because of where this tumour was.

Ms Whittaker had to undergo surgery to remove 90 per cent of the Spheno–orbital meningioma

‘I had quite a bulging eye at one point just before surgery, it was the tumour putting a lot of pressure on the optic nerve.’

Surgeons were unable to remove the remaining 10 per cent of the tumour left behind due to its proximity to Ms Whittaker’s optic nerve and the risks of causing permanent blindness.

A spokesperson for Pfizer, who manufacture Depo–Provera, said ‘patient safety is our top priority’.

They added: ‘We conduct rigorous and continuous monitoring of all our medicines, including assessments of reported adverse events, in collaboration with health authorities around the globe.

‘Depo–Provera (medroxyprogesterone acetate) has been approved in more than 60 countries over the last 30 years, has a well–established efficacy and safety profile and has been a treatment option for millions of patients during that time.

‘People should talk to their doctor, pharmacist or nurse if they have any concerns or experience any side effects.’

A spokesperson for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency added: ‘Patient safety is our top priority. MHRA continuously monitors all licensed medicines for safety.

‘[The drug] is an injectable contraceptive injection which contains medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) and is used to prevent unwanted pregnancy.

‘Product information for products containing MPA was initially updated in 2024 following studies which showed a risk of meningioma associated with use of high dose MPA.

‘It was further updated in early 2025 with new advice and additional measures to manage the risk.

‘The Patient Information Leaflet was also updated to ensure patients were aware of the symptoms of meningioma and with the advice that they should contact their doctor if they experienced these symptoms.

‘For the majority of people, the benefits far outweigh the risk, but we advise anyone with any concerns to speak with their GP, pharmacist or contraceptive provider.’