Restaurant employee gets the tip of his life

London: A man's life was saved by a chance handshake with a doctor, who diagnosed him with a bad tumour.

Mark Gurrieri, 36, was working at a restaurant when a friend there for lunch introduced him to his dining partner, G.P. Chris Britt, 46, of Woodford Green, Essex. The two men shook hands and Dr Britt noticed Gurrieri's huge, spongy-feeling hand and his large facial features as symptoms of acromegaly - a tumour at the base of the brain, which can prove deadly if left untreated.

Gurrieri had the 2cm tumour diagnosed last month after doctors confirmed the rare condition.

"My mum thinks Chris is my guardian angel," he joked.

Dr Britt said he hadn't seen an acromegaly case since he was a medical student. "It's the sort of diagnosis you might make once in a career if you're lucky. It's so rare most GPs wouldn't have seen patients with it."