It began with a faint whirring in her ear — nothing painful, just strange. Denise Wingfield, 55, thought it was tinnitus, the harmless ringing so many people learn to live with. But when the noise grew louder at night, sleep became harder, and something inside her whispered that this wasn’t ordinary.

Her doctor sent her for an MRI. What they found changed her life forever — a brain tumor, later diagnosed as a grade 2 oligodendroglioma, a rare and slow-growing form of cancer. Within weeks, Denise underwent a nine-hour awake surgery, followed by radiation and chemotherapy. “I never imagined that little sound meant something so serious,” she shared. “It still feels unreal.”

Years later, scans revealed the tumor is still growing. Yet, Denise refuses to give up. She’s walking, cycling, and swimming to raise funds for Brain Tumour Research, determined to bring hope to others. “Every step reminds me I’m still here,” she said. “I choose to live fully, even when it’s hard.”

Denise’s story is a quiet reminder that life can change in an instant — and that courage often begins with simply listening to our bodies.