Reality TV Star Joe Amabile, 40, Prepares for Brain Surgery After Tumor Discovery—While Setting New Goal To Run NYC Marathon

“It’s been tricky because like, on one hand, I’m alright, let’s get this over. On the other hand, I’m telling myself, why are you rushing to have brain surgery type of thing? So, yeah … little update, surgery’s next week.”

Amabile is scheduled to undergo a craniotomy—a surgical procedure where doctors remove part of the skull and resect [take out] the tumor.

The lesion that’s set to be removed in his brain, is believed to be a glioma. [A glioma is a type of tumor that develops in the brain or spinal cord, arising from glial cells—the supportive cells that protect, nourish, and help maintain the brain’s neurons.]

Dr. Alexandra Miller, Director of the Neuro-Oncologist Division at NYU Langone Health, told d SurvivorNet in an earlier interview, “Glioma is a broad term that refers to a whole range of different types of primary brain tumors. So, they’re tumors that originate in the brain and very rarely spread outside the brain to other parts of the body.”

Amabile’s surgery update comes about a week after he showed off his new haircut and lightheartedly said it” give the surgical team “easy access.”

RELATED: Reality TV Personality Joe Amabile, 40, Is Doing His Best ‘To Stay Positive’ After Early-Stage Brain Tumor Diagnosis & Upcoming Craniotomy

According to Bachelor Nation, Amabile took to his Instagram story to share his goal of running in the2026 TCS New York City Marathon, taking place on November 1, 2026.

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Speaking in the footage, after finishing a run, he reportedly said, “Before all this brain stuff, I told myself I was probably done running marathons. But now, I want that as a goal for myself. I need that.

“I’m putting it out there in the universe that I’m going to be able to run the New York marathon this year.”

As per Bachelor Nation, Amabile also shared a photo of his marathon registration, writing, “we’ll see,” with a fingers crossed emoji.

Last year, Amabile celebrated completing his second New York City Marathon, sharing that he finished with a time of 3 hours and 49 minutes, which was 10 minutes faster than his first marathon. He joked that the days following the race would be painful as he recovered from the challenge.

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What Led To Joe Amabile’s Diagnosis?

On July 13, Amabile shared a “medical update” with fans, revealing that a recent Prenuvo full-body scan led to an unexpected discovery.

“I didn’t share my Prenuvo results because they ended up finding a lesion in my brain. So then I had to get a brain MRI, and there was a blueberry-sized lesion in my brain that looks to be a glioma, which is a tumor,” Amabile said in another Instagram post.

Prenuvo provides full-body MRI scans that create detailed images of the body, aiming to identify possible health issues before they cause noticeable symptoms.

It’s important to note that while full-body MRI scans are available to the public through companies like Prenuvo and its competitors, including Ezra, Neko Health, and SimonMed, they are not currently part of standard screening recommendations. Experts emphasize that these scans should not replace routine, guideline-based screenings.

Amabile continued, “So I now need to get brain surgery next week to get it removed and get it tested, and then we’re gonna go from there. So it’s been a wild couple weeks. I definitely wasn’t expecting this. I think it’s one of those things where you’re like, ‘oh, something like this, never happen to me.’”

Amabile, who is hopeful the surgery will fully remove the tumor, said he plans to keep fans informed throughout his recovery. He also shared that his doctors believe the lesion may have been caught early.

He wrote alongside the footage of himself, “This past month has been a lot of ups and downs to say the least. After multiple scans and MRIs I have what looks to be an early stage brain tumor.

“I’m doing my best to stay positive during this time and am lucky to have a lot of support from family and friends. I’ve gone back and forth about what I wanted to share on social media but ultimately this is now part of my life now, so might as well. Onto a new journey.”

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Making Sense of a Brain Tumor Diagnosis

According to the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), brain tumors account for 85-90% of all primary central nervous system (CNS) tumors. They can either be cancerous (malignant) or non-cancerous (benign), and depending on where the tumor forms in the brain, doctors determine its type, potential symptoms, and potential treatment.

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Signs and Symptoms of Brain Tumors

Brain tumors impact a person’s brain function and overall health, depending on their size, type, and location within the brain. Tumors that grow big enough and disrupt normal central nervous system functioning can press on nearby nerves, blood vessels, or other tissues. The disrupted central nervous system can present in various ways, making walking or maintaining balance difficult.

However, it’s important to know that brain tumors do not always cause symptoms.

Other signs of brain tumors may include:

• Headaches
• Difficulty speaking or thinking
• Weakness
• Behavioral changes
• Vision changes
• Seizures
• Loss of hearing
• Confusion
• Memory loss

Types of Cancerous and Non-Cancerous Brain Tumors

A brain tumor can affect you differently depending on its location and if it is cancerous. Some brain tumors are non-cancerous (or benign). According to the National Cancer Institute, some examples of these types of brain tumors include:

• Chordomas are primarily benign and slow-growing and are often found near the tailbone or where the spine meets the skull.
• Craniopharyngiomas are rare, slow-growing tumors that don’t spread to other parts of the brain or body. They form near the pituitary gland, near the base of the brain.
• Gangliocytomas are rare tumors of the central nervous system that tend to form on the temporal lobe (the left or right side of the brain).
• Glomus jugulare is a rare and slow-growing tumor.
• Meningiomas are rare brain tumors that usually form on the outer layer of tissue that covers the brain (dura mater).
• Pineocytomas are rare and slow-growing tumors located in the pineal gland near the middle of the brain.
• Pituitary adenomas are slow-growing brain tumors of the anterior pituitary located in the lower part of the brain.
• Schwannomas are rare tumors that grow on the cells that protect nerve cells. They are called Schwann cells.
• Acoustic neuromas (vestibular schwannoma) are slow-growing tumors that develop from the nerves that help balance and hearing.

Other brain tumors are malignant or cancerous. These kinds of tumors include:

• Gliomas are the most common form of cancerous and aggressive primary brain tumors.
• Astrocytoma (glioma) forms in astrocytes (star-shaped cells). Depending on how aggressive or fast they grow and impact brain tissue, these tumors are classified into four grades.
• Ependymomas are tumors classified into three grades depending on how aggressive or fast they grow.
• Oligodendroglioma tumors are classified into grades depending on their growth speed. Grade 2 oligodendroglioma tumors are slow-growing and can invade nearby tissue, but they may not present symptoms for many years before detection. Meanwhile, grade 3 oligodendroglioma tumors proliferate.
• Medulloblastoma tumors are classified into four different grades depending on their aggressive nature or how quickly they grow.
• Glioblastoma, which is considered a central nervous system (CNS) tumor, is the most common and aggressive brain tumor in adults.

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Inside Brain Tumor Surgery and Recovery: What Patients Can Expect

Surgery to remove a brain tumor is delicate by nature, and every movement inside the skull must balance precision with safety.

“We take off the bone overlaying the area we need to get to. We open the little envelope around the brain called the dura, and then we move through the brain tissue to get to where the tumor is to try to cut out as much as we can safely—without hurting the patient’s function or other important things like big blood vessels that can cause things like a stroke,” says board-certified neurosurgeon at Emory University School of Medicine Dr. Kimberly Hoang.

Following surgery, patients are closely monitored and often receive radiation to prevent tumor regrowth—particularly in cases where multiple tumors or metastatic disease are involved.

“Because many patients can have more than one brain tumor or metastasis from their cancer, it was not reasonable to think about surgery for them,” Dr. Hoang adds. “They also get radiation for those spots as well, to try to keep those tumors from growing or shrink them down.”

Treatment Advancements & the Challenge of the Blood-Brain Barrier

Chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapies have long been effective in treating cancer throughout the body. But the brain’s natural defense — the blood-brain barrier — makes these treatments less effective when it comes to brain tumors.

This barrier is “a network of blood vessels and tissue…made up of closely spaced cells and helps keep harmful substances from reaching the brain,” according to the National Cancer Institute.

Still, Dr. Hoang notes that recent advancements in drug design are beginning to improve treatment efficacy in the brain.

Understanding Side Effects of Brain Tumor Treatment

Side effects vary depending on the tumor’s size, location, and number of lesions present.

“Radiation treatment can cause swelling in the tumor as the tumor ‘dies,’ and the surrounding tissue can also become swollen as the treatment takes effect,” Dr. Krishanthan Vigneswaran, a neurosurgeon with UT Health Houston and Memorial Hermann, tells SurvivorNet.

“This swelling can cause symptoms of headache, nausea, vomiting, and neurological loss of function…Surgical resection can also induce swelling, but this is more transient.”

Tumor location often determines what symptoms emerge:

“If it’s near your movement area, movement on one side of the body can be affected. If it’s near your speech area, your speech and the way you form words and express them can be affected,” Dr. Hoang explains.

She also notes brain surgery tends to be less painful than other types — like spinal or abdominal — due to fewer nerves in the surgical area.

Recovery & Long-Term Monitoring

Simpson still receives recurring MRI scans to monitor his brain for any signs of cancer progression.
“Because of this unique quality of metastatic brain disease, an oncology team will have to monitor a patient indefinitely during remission,” Dr. Vigneswaran says.

Many experts recommend joining a support group — especially one with people who’ve undergone similar procedures. Their lived experience can offer comfort and practical advice.

“Support groups can be incredibly helpful to patients and are commonly offered at major cancer centers and hospitals,” says Dr. Jennifer Moliterno, Chief of Neurosurgical Oncology at Yale Cancer Center.

Mental health professionals are also often part of the care team, helping patients manage the emotional effects of surgery, treatment, and recovery.

How Genetic Testing Can Make a Difference In Your Glioma Treatment Journey

Gliomas are a type of tumor that starts in the brain. They can range from slow-growing (low-grade) to more aggressive forms.

“Nowadays, with not only brain cancers, but cancers in general, there has been a lot that’s been discovered about how different mutations in the tumor actually affect the behavior. Also, there are a number of mutations for which we have drugs that can target those mutations,” Dr. David Peereboom, an oncologist at the Cleveland Clinic Cancer Center in Ohio, tells SurvivorNet.

Biomarkers are essentially a tumor’s “fingerprints.” By studying these fingerprints, doctors can predict what treatments may be most effective and least toxic for you.

“The way to discover that [biomarker] is to do testing,” Dr. Peereboom explains. “The most helpful testing is called Next Generation Sequencing. What that does is it looks at all the DNA in the tumor, and the DNA is analyzed, and there are parts of DNA that may be abnormal or mutated.”

This testing might be performed using tissue obtained during a biopsy, surgery, or a blood test.

“There are a handful of those mutations that are called driver mutations,” Dr. Peereboom adds. “Driver mutations, as the name implies, are mutations that actually drive the behavior of the cancer. And for a handful of those, they’re actually, nowadays, there are some drugs that will target those mutations.”

How is Molecular Testing Done?

Molecular testing is typically performed on a sample of tumor tissue. This tissue is obtained from either surgery or a biopsy. Pathologists conduct the testing; these doctors are specially trained to study the characteristics of tumor tissues.

Molecular testing is widely available throughout the country, making it accessible to most patients diagnosed with gliomas.

What Types of Molecular Testing Are There?

Several molecular testing techniques are used on tissue samples. One method is antibody staining, where pathologists “stain the tumor with an antibody to look for the presence of the IDH mutant protein,” Dr. Alexandra Miller, Director of the Neuro-Oncology Division at NYU Langone Health, explains. Tumors without the mutation will not be visible with the stain. However, tumors that have the IDH mutation will stain or show a color that pathologists can recognize. This is a very common technique pathologists use for many tumor types.

WATCH: Understanding Molecular Testing for Glioma

Another method is molecular sequencing, which Dr. Miller explains is a process where doctors examine the DNA of the tumor cells to find specific changes or mutations in the genes. Both techniques can confirm whether the IDH mutation is present in the tumor cells.

Dr. Miller tells SurvivorNet that molecular testing “should be performed on every glioma.”

By determining whether a tumor carries the IDH mutation, doctors can offer FDA-approved targeted therapies like Vorasidenib, which Dr. Miller calls a “huge breakthrough” that slows the progression of the disease. This personalized approach marks an exciting advancement in the fight against gliomas, giving patients new hope and better treatment options.

WATCH: Who Benefits From Vorasidenib?

The FDA-approved drug Vorasidenib marks a major advance for patients with IDH-mutant gliomas—especially grade 2 tumors. In the INDIGO trial, a Phase 3 clinical trial, it reduced the risk of disease progression or death by 61% and extended progression-free survival (period with stable disease) from 11.1 to 27.7 months. For many patients, that represents a life-changing difference.

Coping with Glioma: Managing the Emotional and Psychological Impact

Beyond the medical aspects of facing a glioma diagnosis, many patients also find themselves struggling with the emotional and psychological challenges a cancer diagnosis can, and often does, bring. It’s natural to experience feelings of anxiety, sadness, or uncertainty.

Because glioma treatment can also cause neurological, cognitive, and behavioral changes that affect daily life, acknowledging these challenges and working with your treatment team to find the right sort of support can help you improve your overall wellbeing.

“It’s very individual, related to a person’s personality, their situation, what’s happening in their life, how they react,” Dr. Howard Colman, a neuro-oncologist at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City, Utah, previously told SurvivorNet. “And so the appropriate responses and management has to be very individualized to that patient.”

Coping with Glioma: Managing the Emotional and Psychological Impact

After receiving a glioma diagnosis, it’s common to experience a flood of emotions — shock, disbelief, fear, sadness, or even frustration. You may feel a sense of loss or worry about how the condition will affect your daily life. At the same time, your loved ones may also be struggling as they take on new caregiving roles and provide emotional support.

“Even the lower grade tumors where the treatment is just surgery and observation, it obviously creates a lot pf psychological stress related to the diagnosis and the process of getting the final answer of what it is,” Dr. Colman explained.

Feelings of depression and anxiety are particularly common. Many patients grieve changes to their independence, cognitive abilities, or physical function — but it’s important to recognize that there are support tools available.

Finding the Right Support

“In specialty brain tumor clinics, we generally have social workers, neuropsychologists, case managers, other people who are specialized in dealing with these particular issues — not just cancer patients in general, but with brain tumor patients specifically. And there are very unique challenges for brain tumor patients,” Dr. Colman explains.

The following professionals can help patients find the support they need during the cancer journey:

• The Medical Team (Neurologists & Oncologists): They can provide information about your condition, treatment options, and possible side effects, as well as refer you to specialists for additional support.
• Mental Health Professionals: Psychologists, psychiatrists, and counselors can offer therapy and, if needed, medication to help manage depression, anxiety, or stress.
• Social Workers & Patient Navigators: These professionals can help with financial assistance, accessing resources, and coordinating your care.
• Support Groups: Connecting with others who understand your experience can offer comfort, encouragement, and valuable coping strategies.
• Friends & Family: Your loved ones can provide emotional and practical support, helping with daily tasks and offering a listening ear when needed.

Understanding Neurological Changes

Gliomas and their treatments — including surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy — may cause neurological, cognitive, and behavioral changes. Being prepared for these potential effects can help you take proactive steps to manage them.

Possible changes include:

• Cognitive Challenges: Some people experience difficulty with memory, concentration, or processing information, which may require adjustments in daily activities.
• Behavioral & Personality Changes: You may notice shifts in mood, irritability, or impulsivity, which can be difficult for both you and your loved ones.
• Motor & Sensory Impairments: Depending on the tumor’s location, you may experience weakness, balance issues, or difficulty walking.
• Speech & Language Difficulties: Some individuals have trouble finding words, speaking clearly, or understanding language.
• Seizures: Gliomas can sometimes cause seizures, which may require medication for management.

Managing and Treating Neurological Changes

While these changes can be challenging, there are many strategies to help you manage them effectively, including:

• Rehabilitation Therapy: Physical therapy can help with mobility, occupational therapy can assist with daily tasks, and speech therapy can address communication difficulties.
• Cognitive Rehabilitation: A neuropsychologist or cognitive therapist can help improve memory, attention, and problem-solving skills.
• Medications: Certain medications can help with mood changes, seizures, or other neurological symptoms.
• Lifestyle Adjustments: Regular exercise, a balanced diet, and sufficient rest can support brain health and emotional well-being.
• Psychological Support: Therapy, counseling, and support groups can help you and your caregivers cope emotionally.

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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