‘5 Things I’m Struggling With’: ‘Bachelorette’ Star Joe Amabile’s Honest 4-Week Recovery Update After Brain Tumor Surgery

In the footage he admitted that overstimulation has been his biggest struggle, followed by socializing, anxiety, overdoing it, and sleep, which he ranks as his fifth biggest challenge.

Amabile—who has been navigating recovery with the support of his 28-year-old wife, Serena Pitt, after undergoing surgery to remove a “blueberry-sized lesion” from his brain that was ultimately diagnosed as a low-grade astrocytoma—has been candid about the challenges he’s faced during his recovery.

“It’s been four and a half weeks since my surgery. I wanted to make this video mainly because overall I’m doing wonderful. But … has it all been great? No. There are things I struggle with,” he explained.

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“Number one, overstimulation. If I’m scrolling too much on social media, if I have a big TV in this room, if I watch it for too long, I do get a little lightheaded. I’ll have to go in my bedroom and turn the lights off.”

Amabile continued, “Socializing is another thing that I’ve been hesitant to do. I’m starting to get back into it. Next week there’s going to be a lot of people in New York, and I’ve been on the more cautious side. Three, anxiety is something I’ve been dealing with my whole life, but it’s definitely ramped up now. Anytime I read anything about, like, the certain tumor that I have, I just get … my hands sweat, I get anxious.

“I feel 100% at times, and then I do tend to overdo it. I’m an overdoer. I’m struggling making this video, is what I’m doing.”

He then acknowledged that he has always been able to function on very little sleep, but said that during his recovery, he “can’t do that anymore.”

“I need— my sleep is really important. And I think that’s it, really,” he concluded. “And then, you know, honorable mentions: this is going to be with me the rest of my life, but that’s a video for another time.”

Amabile’s honesty truly resonated with fans, with one commenting, “I’m almost 3 years post brain surgery and still can relate to all of this. One day at a time. So happy you’re mostly feeling great!”

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Another wrote, “After brain surgery I found airports, shopping at big stores, etc so over stimulating and ramped up my anxiety. It mostly goes away with time. But patience is hard. You got this! Thanks for being so open.”

“As a brain tumor survivor who also had a craniotomy, I reminded myself often (and still do) that’s it’s my BRAIN. My brain. Be easy on yourself, you’re doing amazing even when you feel like you’re not,” commented a third fan.

“Lots of time with my eyes closed, lots of rest and sleep. Over researching your tumor type and the anxiety is so real. Wishing you continued healing.”

Grocery Store Joe’s Brain Tumor Journey

The reality TV star, widely known by his nickname “Grocery Store Joe,” underwent a craniotomy—a surgical procedure where doctors remove part of the skull and resect [take out] the tumor—after a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan found a small on his brain.

He also previously took to Instagram to explain in a video clip, “I was diagnosed with a very low grade astrocytoma. So I will be undergoing treatment which included a daily pill that will put any remaining tumor cells to sleep, as well as regular MRIs. Staying positive baby.”

Astrocytomas, a type of glioma, develop from astrocytes, which are “star-shaped cells” found in the brain. The American Brain Tumor Association describes these types of tumors as “slow-growing and tend to invade surrounding tissue.”

Grades I or II astrocytomas are nonmalignant (noncancerous) and may be referred to as low-grade. Grades III and IV astrocytomas are malignant and may be referred to as high-grade astrocytomas. Grade IV astrocytomas are known as glioblastoma multiforme. Lower-grade astrocytomas can change into higher-grade astrocytomas over time, so it’s important to catch these tumors as early as possible.

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.

The lesion that was removed in his brain, was previously 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 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.”

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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 competitors such as 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.’”

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.
• Oligodendrogliomas are classified into grades based on their growth rate. 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.

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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