Lisa Collier just chalked it up to aging. But a visit from her sister made her realize something wasn''t right.

"I hadn''t seen my sister for eight months. She noticed a considerable change - my left eye was bulging," Collier, 44, of West Frankfort, Ill., says. "She sat in the car poking at it, trying to show me the difference from my right eye."

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During her annual eye exam, Collier''s ophthalmologist noticed something as well. He sent her for a CT scan and MRI.

The tests revealed a benign brain tumor pushing on her optic nerve, causing the migraine-like symptoms. The location of the tumor, just behind the eye socket, made surgery necessary.

Collier was immediately referred to Washington University physicians at Barnes-Jewish Hospital: Philip Custer, MD, specializing in oculoplastic surgery — reconstructive surgery of the eye; and neurosurgeon Michael Chicoine, MD,who treats brain tumors with both traditional and Gamma Knife radiosurgery.

"I thought it would take months to get an appointment," Collier says. "I was so surprised when within one hour of being referred, Dr. Chicoine''s office was on the phone to set an appointment with me."

Successful surgery to remove the tumor followed soon after.

Now, a year after her surgery, Collier is feeling better than she has in years. Her headaches are gone, her eye no longer bulges and her vision is better than ever.

"I feel blessed to have had the medical team I did," she says. "Dr. Chicoine and his team took such excellent care of my family as well as me."