Overlooked Hearing Issues: Woman Discovers Cancer After Years of Misdiagnosis

To the outside observer, Anthony Greco epitomizes robust health.

At 31, the fitness enthusiast stands tall at six feet, sporting impressive biceps and chiseled abs that could rival those of Mark Wahlberg.

With a rigorous gym routine that sees him working out about five times a week, Greco can perform 45 pull-ups in one go and has clocked a mile in under six minutes. However, behind this fit exterior lies a shocking diagnosis.

Greco is battling a rare form of brain cancer, affecting only one in 200,000 people, with aggressive tendrils weaving through his brain, posing a constant threat to his life.

Back in November 2011, when he was just 17, Greco was diagnosed with astrocytoma, a type of slow-growing cancer originating from the brain cells responsible for supporting the surrounding tissues. Unfortunately, doctors discovered that his cancer was diffuse, indicating it had begun spreading within his brain.

Since then, he has had three surgeries to try and expel the tumor, including one in which surgeons removed part of his left frontal cortex – the area of the brain responsible for emotion, language and cognitive function. He has also been receiving chemotherapy for five years.

But the cancer keeps returning, and in 2024, it was detected on the motor cortex of his brain – the area responsible for movement – meaning it could leave him paralyzed.

‘I feel like a Ferrari with a bad engine,’ Greco told the Daily Mail. ‘This cancer just keeps coming back.’ 

Anthony Greco is battling a rare form of brain cancer. He has had three brain surgeries so far, but the cancer has again been detected 

Warning signs emerged when he was just 15 years old, after a nurse raised the alarm over his left ear’s hearing abilities.

Greco said he was not aware of any hearing loss, and that his hearing was above average, but the nurse said the results were not what was expected for someone his age.

It led him to receive a brain scan at the local hospital, which revealed a tiny black spot that looked like ‘a shadow’ in the front left of his brain. At the time, they did not suspect anything serious.

‘Doctors had no idea what that was,’ he told the Daily Mail. ‘They just said, “that’s weird,” and asked me to keep coming back for scans.’

Two years later, Greco returned for scans which showed the ‘shadow’ had grown. 

This raised concerns and prompted doctors to perform a craniotomy on the then-17-year-old boy. It was a three to five-hour surgery where his skull was opened and the tumor and a small surrounding area of the brain was cut out.

Tests on the tissue they removed led to Greco’s diagnosis.  

According to the American Cancer Society, in cases of diffuse astrocytoma diagnosed among 15- to 39-year-olds, 79 percent survive for five years or more after their diagnosis. The Mayo Clinic estimates the lifespan for patients is just seven to eight years after diagnosis on average.

Greco’s craniotomy was a success, and doctors at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, where he was treated, told him that there was then a 95 percent chance that the cancer was gone.

Despite the diagnosis, Greco remains in good spirits and exercises regularly to keep his body strong

But at a follow-up scan a year later, physicians detected the cancer again in the front-left portion of his brain.

He had a second craniotomy, forcing him to sit out his second semester of college. Again, doctors thought they had removed all the cancer, but a year later it was detected for a third time.

After considering options, Greco opted for a third brain surgery in 2017, hoping that this would be the last.

He said that, at the time, doctors said he could have the surgery now and then do chemotherapy or leave the new tumor and wait for a new treatment, such as a new drug, to emerge.

‘I was like, “I don’t think I can live with a brain tumor in my head. Can you just take it out? And we’ll talk about further treatment after,”‘ Greco told the Daily Mail.

After the third operation, doctors were again hopeful that the cancer had finally been beaten.

But in 2020, after he had another scan, they again detected changes in his brain that indicated the cancer was back.

Greco was put on a oral chemotherapy drug, which he has now taken every day for the last five years.

It appeared to be working, but in 2024, Greco was told that scans showed the tumor was back. He is now having a scan every six months while he decides what to do about it.

Despite the experience, Greco remains in good spirits, joking that he considers himself to be an ‘undercover cancer patient.’

If Greco has another surgery, doctors will need to remove the tumor from near his motor neurons, which could leave him paralyzed

Greco is shown above at a hospital appointment to track his health

Although he has had three brain surgeries, Greco said he has suffered no neurological deficits or personality loss. He also said he had no side effects from chemotherapy.

He always enjoyed fitness before the cancer was detected, and has stuck with exercise, saying the cancer motivates him to keep heading to the gym.

‘I do believe exercise has helped me through all of this,’ he told the Daily Mail.

‘Just like, treating your body kindly, you know, and taking care of it. I am very lucky not to have had any side effects.

‘I’ve had friends that have passed from cancer and just seeing how hard they fought to stay alive… when I’m really down, it’s like, this has got to be worth something.

‘No matter how bad anything is, it’s not always going to be that bad. It’s been better before, it’s been worse before.’

Greco lifts weights four to five times a week. He can lift 225lbs on the bench press and do 405lbs deadlifts. 

He also does cardio, having cycled for seven hours last week in preparation for his nine-hour ride for cancer research. He also attends yoga classes.

Greco has taken up stand-up comedy to keep him in good spirits and share his story

To cope with his diagnosis, Greco has started to do stand-up comedy. He said it helps raise his spirits and allows him to tell others about his story.

‘I have a tumor in my motor cortex. I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be able to write or speak or walk or go to the gym or do any of those things,’ he told the Daily Mail.

‘So, I’m just trying to appreciate them and enjoy them and be as present as I can for as long as possible.’

Greco has had romantic relationships in the past, but said that these often fizzle because of the cancer’s impact on his life.

‘Dating is kind of a nightmare’, he said, ‘because it’s like, every few years, something comes up with me.

‘And then I need to deal with that, which, you know, I don’t always feel safe or sure about what’s going on.

‘When it’s that stressful, you just kind of hate yourself and don’t want to be around yourself.’

Every morning when he wakes up, Greco, who is waiting for his next brain scan on March 16, said he is immediately hit by the realization that he is battling brain cancer.

But, rather than collapse, he said he opens his blinds and says ‘thank you’ – knowing that he is still here, can get out of bed, walk and speak.