A month before Rob Estes was diagnosed with a glioblastoma brain tumor, he started experiencing mild headaches and dizziness. Estes and his wife Christi went to his primary care physician, where he underwent a full physical. His physician gave him medication for migraines.  

Then the symptoms started to get worse.

“We started noticing some personality changes and because of some other things going on in our life, I attributed it to those things,” she says.

Estes also had trouble sleeping. Even when he was very tired, he would sometimes wake up in the middle of the night, unable to go back to sleep.

“I was hoping it would be a simple sinus infection,” Estes says.

He had a CT scan at Piedmont Fayette Hospital, where doctors found a 5-centimeter mass on his brain. Estes was rushed to Piedmont Atlanta.

Estes’ diagnosis

Estes was told his tumor was a glioblastoma about the size of a tangerine and located in his right frontal lobe. The diagnosis came as a shock to him and his family.

“I was familiar with cancer, but brain cancer?” Estes says. “I’m healthy. I’m 42 years old. How could I have cancer?”

Estes decided it was in his best interest never to research his condition.

“I’ve not gone online or spent any time looking through books to read about what I call ‘My Goliath,’” he explains. “But I know it’s bad, and I know it’s something I’ll fight the rest of my life.”

Living with hope

“There is no cure for his brain cancer,” Christi says. “That’s probably one of the hardest things because it’s just a new way of life for us.”

She compares going through hard times to going through a desert.

“You just want to get to the other side,” she explains. “What we are having to learn to do is navigate through this so-called desert, but we are learning to thrive. We are making the most of every moment and are hopeful there will be many years of moments.”

The dream team

Estes calls his Piedmont medical team a dream team.

“It’s like having a cheerleading squad that I can call on 24 hours a day if I need them,” he says. “Three days after surgery, not only was I home, but I was participating in a church revival and singing in the church choir.”

Life with cancer

Despite his prognosis, Estes isn’t looking back.

“Life after cancer – I wouldn’t change a thing,” he says. “It has brought us closer together as husband and wife, I’m a better father, and I’m a better friend. I hope my story will be an inspiration for others in my situation.”

To learn more about brain tumor treatment, visit the Piedmont Brain Tumor Center.  

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