23-Year-Old’s Dismissed Headache Uncovers Shocking Medical Nightmare He Never Saw Coming
Ever get a headache after just one beer and think, “Ah, must be getting old”—only to find out it’s not age, but a rare brain tumor turning your world upside down? That’s exactly the curveball life threw 23-year-old Cal Petrie this past January when what started as mild headaches morphed into a devastating diagnosis: grade four pineoblastoma, a rare cancer lurking inside his brain. Since then, Cal’s been navigating the intense world of surgeries, proton beam therapy, and chemo, all while grappling with that gut-wrenching ‘Why me?’ question we’ve all pondered facing any calamity. His story is a stark reminder that sometimes, the most unexpected health hits can come disguised as common annoyances—and it shines a harsh light on the dire need for more funding and research into brain tumors. So next time you pop an ibuprofen for a headache, spare a thought for Cal’s fight and the silent battles many face. LEARN MORE.
Warning: This article contains discussion of cancer which some readers may find distressing.
Cal Petrie thought he was ‘getting old’ and had a hangover when he started getting headaches after drinking just one beer.
The 23-year-old first noticed it over Christmas and thought it was just part of the aging process that he was getting a headache three or four hours after drinking, he’d take an ibuprofen and then feel alright again.
But in January this year he discovered what the actual cause of the headaches was when he was diagnosed with grade four pineoblastoma – a rare cancer in the form of a brain tumour.
Since then he’s had two operations to remove the tumour and excess fluid from his brain, as well as weeks of proton beam therapy to target the tumour with precision.
Cal noticed he was getting headaches after one beer over Christmas, in January he got his diagnosis (Brain Tumour Research / SWNS)
He’s now in chemotherapy and the Clapham Junction man is hoping to raise awareness for the dangers of brain tumours after his ‘devastating’ diagnosis turned his ‘whole world upside down’.
“I started to ask myself, ‘why me?’ and ‘why now?’,” Cal said of the moment he got his diagnosis.
“I felt angry with the situation because it just felt so unfair although, in my head, I knew there was no-one to be angry with. I was just really unlucky.
“There are very few answers but Government funding for brain tumours is still so low.
“Everybody facing a diagnosis wants to know why these things are happening. More funding will help answer those questions and will lead to more treatment options and improved outcomes.”
He’s been through operations, proton beam therapy and now chemotherapy (Brain Tumour Research / SWNS)
He explained that doctors told him he was ‘such a rare care’ that they’d got quite interested in him, with Cal saying he had ‘dozens of clinicians’ attempting to work out why it happened to him in the hopes of preventing it from occurring again.
At the moment they’re not sure whether his brain tumour developed very quickly or if it had been with him for a long time and stayed dormant until he got headaches.
Most people diagnosed with pineoblastomas are younger than 20, and symptoms can include a feeling of pressure in the skull, nausea, abnormal eye movements and the headaches that Cal got.
Doctors are interested in Cal’s case as most people diagnosed with pineoblastomas are under-20s (Brain Tumour Research / SWNS)
This weekend (13 September) his mum Lucy is doing a bike ride from London to Brighton to raise money for Brain Tumour Research, which can be donated to here.
Dr Karen Noble said: “Cal’s story reflects the devastating reality faced by so many families across the UK.
“We are campaigning to increase the national investment in research into brain tumours to at least £45 million a year.
“We need sustained investment if we are to develop kinder, more effective treatments and give brain tumour patients the best possible chance.”
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