Debilitating: College Student, 22, Wrongly Told by Doctors His Headaches Were Depression. It Was Brain Cancer.

Kearney was 22 years old and experiencing “debilitating headaches,” reports The Press and Journal, and he sought the opinion of his doctor, who “dismissed them as depression or migraines.”

The Aberdeenshire, Scotland, resident later visited the optician and a large mass was discovered. Kearney was sent to the hospital within hours for emergency treatment.

The fourth-year university student who was studying International Business Management was given an emergency biopsy and doctors helped relieve some of the pressure.

Three weeks later, the results of his biopsy showed that he had Glioblastoma Multiforme, a kind of brain cancer.  His brain cancer was stage 4 and spread to his spine. Kearney underwent chemotherapy for treatment and had the loving support of his friends and family through the process.

Kearney’s aunt, Victoria Antonio, told the paper, “We have a close family so it’s really hard. He is such a genuinely nice guy. He is always smiling, always. He always works so hard. A lot of the community know and love him. It is just so difficult to go through.”

Glioblastoma is the most common form of brain cancer and is extremely aggressive. The life expectancy for those diagnosed with glioblastoma currently stands at two years, but thanks to years of research there may be a new option for those battling the disease.

A relatively new treatment option called Optune was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in October 2015 and is available to adults aged 22 or older. This tumor-treating therapy comes in the form of a cap that attaches to a patient's head, where electric currents run through adhesive pads.

These currents disrupt the division of cancer cells, which can delay the disease from progressing and thus extend the survival time for some patients.

"I just want to emphasize to patients that when I first started doing this in 1999, there were maybe less than 5% of patients with this disease that were alive two years," Dr. Suriya Jeyapalan, a neuro-oncologist at Tufts Medical Center, told SurvivorNet in a previous interview.

"Now we're getting out to maybe a third of patients alive at five years. This is not your father's brain tumor, and I want to sort of give a message of hope to patients. In the future, we'll add to these treatments and make it even better."

There Is New Hope for Those Fighting the Same Cancer That Took John McCain & Ted Kennedy; Using Polio & Immunotherapy to Fight Brain Tumors

Pushing for a Correct Diagnosis

If you're experiencing symptoms that might be caused by cancer, it's critical to know for sure whether or not you have the disease. To do that, you should always get multiple opinions on your diagnosis.

When working with your medical team, tell them precisely what you feel and raise anything that may feel off to you. Every symptom should have a plan to address it, and if you feel like you are not being heard, continue to push and seek a second opinion if your concerns are not being addressed.

The only way to know this is to continue to push for answers, telling your medical team exactly what you are experiencing and demanding that you receive the best treatment for your specific situation.

"Every appointment you leave as a patient, there should be a plan for what the doc is going to do for you, and if that doesn't work, what the next plan is," Dr. Zuri Murell, director of the Cedars-Sinai Colorectal Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet in a previous interview.

"And I think that that's totally fair. And me as a health professional that's what I do for all of my patients."

Be Pushy, Be Your Own Advocate… Don't Settle

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