“My dog detected my cancer before the doctor did.”
Breanna Bortner’s dog, Mochi, began to behave unusually by sticking close to her chest before she was diagnosed with stage 2B triple-negative breast cancer, displaying an almost intuitive awareness as her health journey unfolded.
The Grammy-winning singer, Michael Bolton, and his family have shared some surprising early signs of his brain tumor, which they found out only recently.
His daughter revealed that Bolton, diagnosed with glioblastoma in December 2023, exhibited symptoms that indicated something was wrong even before his diagnosis.
During a family bowling night, things took a strange turn. At 72, Bolton showed signs of distress when he collapsed from his chair—an unusual occurrence for him, as his daughter Tallinn pointed out.
“He’s athletic and doesn’t drink, so when he fell, we were all perplexed. It was alarming, to say the least,” she recalled. “That was the moment we understood something was wrong.”
With hindsight, Bolton’s daughters realized they had missed various warning signs. After the fall, he struggled with balance and nausea while performing at charity events.
Did they brush off those odd symptoms as mere fatigue? Perhaps it was stress, they thought. Tallinn reflected, “He had been on a constant grind, traveling and performing everywhere. Exhaustion was a plausible explanation for us.”
“It’s really one of the most tragic illnesses.”
Following the bowling night, Bolton began experiencing persistent headaches. By that Monday, an MRI revealed a brain tumor that turned out to be glioblastoma.
This rare form of cancer, recognized for its rapid and aggressive nature, can affect individuals of any age, as explained by Dr. Michael Canny from a Colorado health tech firm. He added that while glioblastoma’s origins remain largely unknown, it begins when cell mutations in the brain spiral out of control.
“These cancer cells infiltrate nearby brain tissue, making treatment particularly challenging,” Canny confirmed.
Bolton’s symptoms—severe headaches, confusion, and sudden falls—were indeed consistent with typical glioblastoma indicators. Other possible signs might include nausea, memory loss, mood changes, speech difficulties, and vision problems.
While not all symptoms indicate glioblastoma, it’s crucial to consult a healthcare provider if unexplained changes in behavior or cognitive function arise.
After undergoing surgery, Bolton went through radiation and chemotherapy, which, so far, have kept the cancer at bay.
Treatment and Prognosis
Glioblastoma is known for being one of the most lethal cancers, with most patients surviving for only about a year post-diagnosis. The five-year survival rate is alarmingly low, below 5%.
Experts note that the resistance to treatment is what makes glioblastoma particularly severe. “It’s the blood-brain barrier—that protective shield that keeps dangerous substances away from our brain—that also hampers most cancer-fighting drugs,” Canny remarked.
In some cases, successful treatment begins with surgery to remove the tumor, provided it hasn’t invaded critical tissue deeply.
Other potential avenues for treatment, like radiation and chemotherapy, can slightly boost survival rates, but options remain limited.
“There are several clinical trials underway that give us a glimmer of hope,” Canny noted. If successful, some new technologies could allow doctors to temporarily breach the blood-brain barrier, providing new treatment possibilities for patients like Bolton.
