When Doctors Find a Brain Tumor
- After debilitating fatigue and headaches led to a benign pituitary tumor diagnosis, 28-year-old dad Charlie Martin has turned his journey into one of resilience.
- Most pituitary tumors are benign (non-cancerous), grow slowly, and do not spread to other body parts. Brain tumors (malignant and benign) can cause an array of symptoms, which may include difficulty walking, headaches, confusion, personality changes, vision changes, memory loss, and more.
- Anyone battling cancer may find telling their children about their diagnosis to be a really difficult task. You want to be honest with them and you want them to be prepared for what might happen, but at the same time you want to protect them, and be as gentle as possible.
- “Having these conversations may bring up deep emotions you may have stowed away. There is nothing wrong with showing our emotions to children as long as we can remain calm and give them a sense of safety,” Licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Marianna Strongin said.
- Facing cancer as a parent can be an incredibly difficult task. But having children who depend on you can also provide another reason to fight the disease with everything you’ve got.
According to the American Cancer Center, these types of cancers, also called pituitary carcinomas, are very rare, and “almost all pituitary tumors are benign (noncancerous) tumors called pituitary adenomas.” [The type Martin was diagnosed with was benign.]
Read MoreConcerned that his testosterone levels were not within the normal range, he pursued further evaluation at a private hospital, where a glucose tolerance test uncovered results that pointed doctors toward the possibility of a tumor.
@charles.martinn21 This Is My Brain Tumor Story , here’s how I’m fighting back 💪 #braintumor #braintumorawarness #mystory #positivity
“When an MRI scan revealed a pituitary tumour, I was in total disbelief. I was told it had been growing for about eight to 10 years, and it gave me acromegaly; a rare bone condition where the body makes too much of a hormone that can make parts of your body grow bigger,” Martin explained further.
Doctors typically rely on MRI and CT scans to detect brain tumors, but imaging alone can’t always provide a full diagnosis. Surgery is often required to remove tissue and confirm the tumor type through lab analysis.
Martin—who began noticing symptoms of excess growth hormone at age 18, including facial and throat swelling, enlarged hands and feet, sleep apnea, and debilitating fatigue—was ultimately diagnosed with a benign brain tumor in July 2025.
Following his diagnosis, he underwent surgery two months later.
WATCH: What to Consider Between Biopsy and Surgery
Dr. D. Ryan Ormond, a neurosurgeon at the University of Colorado in Denver, previously told SurvivorNet that determining whether surgery is appropriate is often the first major decision.
“It’s usually pretty straightforward, can we get enough of the tumor out to make a difference in their life with surgery?” he said.
Martin recalled being told the tumor had a high chance of returning, which meant he could no longer resume his physically demanding work as an electrician.
During his recovery, he began creating new career paths by launching a marketing agency and building an online Etsy shop, gradually working toward financial independence.
“The impacts of tumors are often unpredictable. If I didn’t have Albert [his 2-year-old son], I don’t know where I would be, he is the reason why I push myself to get through this,” Martin, a single dad who praises his loved ones for being his support system through this arduous time, added.
Expert Resources for Patients Diagnosed With a Brain Tumor
- After Glioma Surgery: Decision Making and the Tumor Board
- Navigating The Complexities & Limits Of Diffuse Glioma Surgery
- What To Expect Before & After Glioma Surgery
- Mental Health Matters: Depression, Anxiety, And Finding Hope After A Brain Tumor Diagnosis
- Novel Brain Cancer Treatment: Tumor Treating Fields (Optune Gio): What, How, Who, Why?
- The Difficulty of Treating Brain Tumors and the Emergence of Targeted Therapy
Martin is currently undergoing hormone replacement therapy and receiving injections to manage the elevated growth hormone levels linked to his tumor.
He also shared that he has a sparsely granulated pituitary neuroendocrine tumor (PitNET), a subtype that can be more difficult to treat because the tumor cells are dispersed throughout his pituitary gland.
@charles.martinn21 After having my benign brain Tumour on my pituitary gland removed in September 2025, it’s unfortunately come back. I’ve beat it once, I’ll beat it again. Life is full of setbacks but it’s about how you come through them. #braintumor #braintumourdiagnosis #motivation #myjourney #inspiration
Martin, who often takes to TikTok to use his platform to spread awareness and positivity, concluded, “I used to struggle with anxiety, but my tumor has made me come out of my shell and step out of my comfort zone by sharing my story. I am learning about other people’s lives and what they are going through.
“People with brain tumours are coming together, speaking honestly about their ups and downs; it’s meaningful to be part of this community. ”
In a recent video shared on his TikTok page, Martin said after beating the brain tumor, it ultimately recurred in May 2026, but he continues to remain hopeful.
He explained in the footage, “I have had my kind of down days since I’ve found out the tumor’s come back. I think that’s only natural and it’s only human because you kind of think in your head, ]oh, I’ve got to go through all this again.’ But it just, it is what it is.
“I’ve realized that there’s nothing in life that, there’s nothing that life can’t throw at me that I won’t beat. And God never puts you through anything in your life that he knows you can’t handle.”
Martin, who admitted that his 2-year-old son loves watching his TikTok videos, says it has inspired him to keep sharing his journey as a lasting reminder of resilience.
” I think showing my journey of what I’m doing and showing my son when he gets older or he finds something hard in his life, but to be able to show my son that you can beat whatever life throws at you is very inspiring for me,” he continued.
“And it really feels like it gives me a purpose to show him that there’s always gonna be challenges in life, but you can always get through those challenges. I will not sit here and feel sorry.”
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,” explains 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.”
WATCH: What To Expect Before & After Brain Surgery
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
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.
Better Understanding Brain Tumors
Brain tumors can impact a person’s cognitive function and overall well-being, depending largely on the tumor’s size, type, and specific location within the brain. When large enough, tumors may interfere with the central nervous system, pressing on nearby nerves, blood vessels, or tissues. This disruption may result in difficulties with coordination, balance, or mobility.
WATCH: Hope for Glioblastoma Research
While some brain tumors cause noticeable symptoms, others can go unnoticed for long periods. When symptoms do occur, they might include:
- Persistent headaches
- Difficulty speaking or processing thoughts
- Muscle weakness
- Behavioral or personality changes
- Vision disturbances
- Seizures
- Hearing loss
- Confusion
- Memory issues
Treatment Options for Brain Tumors
Treatment strategies for brain cancer depend on several variables, including the tumor’s size, type, grade, and location. Doctors may recommend:
- Surgery
- Radiation therapy
- Chemotherapy
Your medical team will help guide you based on your individual diagnosis. The prognosis—or outlook—depends on:
- Tumor type and growth rate
- Tumor location in the brain
- Presence of genetic mutations or abnormalities
- Whether the entire tumor can be removed
- The patient’s overall health
Types of Brain Tumors: Cancerous and Non-Cancerous
According to the National Cancer Institute, brain tumors can vary greatly in behavior. Some common non-cancerous (benign) types include:
- Chordomas: Slow-growing, often found near the spine’s base or where it meets the skull
- Craniopharyngiomas: Develop near the pituitary gland; rare and slow-growing
- Gangliocytomas: Form in the temporal lobe and affect the central nervous system
- Glomus jugulare: Rare and slow-growing
- Meningiomas: Typically grow on the brain’s outer protective layer (dura mater)
- Pineocytomas: Arise from the pineal gland near the brain’s center
- Pituitary adenomas: Located in the pituitary gland; generally slow-growing
- Schwannomas: Originate in Schwann cells, which insulate nerve fibers
- Acoustic neuromas (vestibular schwannomas): Impact on hearing and balance nerves
Common malignant (cancerous) brain tumors include:
- Gliomas: The most frequent and aggressive form of primary brain cancer
- Astrocytomas: Derived from star-shaped brain cells, with four growth grades
- Ependymomas: Graded based on aggressiveness
- Oligodendrogliomas: Can grow slowly (Grade 2) or aggressively (Grade 3)
- Medulloblastomas: Fast-growing and often found in children
- Glioblastomas: The most common and aggressive brain tumor in adults
Battling Cancer as a Parent
Opening up about cancer diagnosis with children can be really difficult task. You want to be honest with them and you want them to be prepared for what might happen, but at the same time you want to protect them, and be as gentle as possible.
John Duberstein, who lost his wife Nina to cancer, explains that he and his wife tried to take a progressive approach and be as open with their kids as possible. But as honest as they were, they ran into some issues with their kids understanding the disease. When Nina started to look healthier, for example, the kids assumed she was getting better, but that wasn’t the case.
Talking to Kids About Cancer: Be Open as Much as You Can
“It was a real eye-opening moment for two people who felt like they were dealing really head-on with this stuff, talking to the kids,” Duberstein told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview.
“So I think it’s important to be open with the kids as much as you can, as much as you feel like they can handle. But it’s also important to revisit it and not make assumptions. At the end of the night, what Nina had to tell them was, ‘I’m not ever going to get better. My cancer is not ever going to go away,’ it was hard for them to hear even though they’d already been prepared.”
Meanwhile, breast cancer survivor Gina de Givenchy previously spoke with SurvivorNet about going through cancer treatment as the mother of a 12-year-old girl.
“I felt it was important to mask it because I really wanted her to know that I was going to be OK. I didn’t want her to see me weak and sickly,” she said. “When it comes to your kids, I think you always want to sort of protect them.”
Telling Your Kids You Have Cancer ‘When it Comes to Your Kids, You Want to Protect Them’
The pressures of parenthood can be daunting during a cancer journey, but having little ones that depend on you can also provide another source of motivation to fight for your life.
Obviously, not every parent feels comfortable sharing so much about their diagnosis with their children. Some survivors have even told us that they were afraid to tell their family members, but as for Duberstein and de Givenchy, honesty was the best policy.
Licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Marianna Strongin encourages people with sick parents “to talk about your feelings with your immediate family as well as your parents.” She’s previously talked about the importance of expressing your feelings in her advice column for SurvivorNet.
“Talking about difficult things does not cause more anxiety,” Dr. Strongin said. “It is NOT talking about the very thing that we are all afraid or worried about that causes our body to feel dysregulated (unable to manage emotional responses or keep them within an acceptable range of typical emotional reactions) and anxious.”
Specifically, with patients who may be scared to talk to their children about a diagnosis, Strongin said children can pick up on their emotions, so it may help to check in with yourself beforehand.
“Having these conversations may bring up deep emotions you may have stowed away. There is nothing wrong with showing our emotions to children as long as we can remain calm and give them a sense of safety,” Dr. Strongin said.
Questions to Ask Your Doctor
If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with a brain tumor, SurvivorNet’s AI‑powered tool, “My Health Questions“, can help you better understand your diagnosis, explore treatment options, and prepare meaningful questions for upcoming appointments. Here are a few to consider:
- Do you need both the tissue sample and blood samples for molecular testing?
- What specific mutations will you be testing for in my tumor?
- Do I have any genetic mutation that would change the course of my treatment?
- Am I eligible to receive targeted therapy? What about immunotherapy?
- Is there a clinical trial that would be relevant for me?
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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