Bachelor in Paradise's Joe Amabile discusses why he chose to agree to potentially dangerous surgery after doctors found what appeared to be a brain tumor.
Speaking with his wife, Serena Pitt, on the Thursday, July 16, episode of the “Not Married to This” podcast, Joe, 40, opened up about the difficult health decisions he unexpectedly faced.
“I mean, there's something on my mind. It's like there's no other way around you. It's like there's something there and that … you don't want anything on your mind,” Joe said.
After sharing on Instagram earlier this week that doctors found a “blueberry-sized lesion” on his brain, Joe is now planning to have surgery to remove it and get it checked out.
“So, basically, it was, we're not going to know what this is just by monitoring it. We're only going to know by taking it out or examining it,” Joe explained in the podcast. “And from what I understand, they only do brain biopsies if it's too dangerous to remove it. But when mine is there, it seems like it's the least dangerous measure to remove it. I mean, surgery is too risky.”
He continued, “The craniotomy, which is scary.
Joe shared that he wanted to end the condition after he caught the tumor early rather than risk his life.
“I was like, okay with me, I'm monitoring something that we don't know what it is … it could get worse very quickly. I was like, 'I'm going to do the surgery,'” she said of making the call to go ahead.
Despite the seriousness of the treatment process, Joe said he is hopeful for a positive outcome. “I hope they get 100% of it or at least 99.4,” he added.
Serena Pitt and Joe Amabile.
(Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for iHeartRadio)Serena, 28, added that before Joe agreed to the operation, the couple spoke to medical professionals to get their opinions.
“We asked the neuro-oncologist and the neurosurgeon separately, 'If this was you, if you had this scanner in your brain, what would you do?' And they both without hesitation said, 'I'm going to pull this out,'” he said. “They say there are many chances that this thing, although it is growing slowly, will grow into something aggressive or a problem.”
When Joe started sharing his health news with his Instagram followers on Monday, July 13, he noted that the surgery will take place in the next two weeks.
Bachelor Nation alum Serena Pitt is thanking fans for their “love and support” following the news of husband Joe Amabile's brain tumor. “Finding out that Joe has a brain tumor has come with so many emotions. It's been so scary, overwhelming and overwhelming at times,” Serena, 28, captioned an Instagram post on Tuesday, July 14. […]
In a social media post, Joe explained that he had faced a “wild few weeks” after receiving the news.
“I certainly did not expect this,” he revealed. “I think it's one of those things where you say, 'Oh, something like this would never happen to me.' And here I am.”
Joe flagged New York's Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in the post's caption.
“This past month has been full of ups and downs to say the least. After many scans and MRIs I have what appears to be a stage 1 brain tumor. In two weeks I will be having a craniotomy to remove it – yes brain surgery – @memorialsloankettering,” she wrote. “I'm doing my best to stay positive during this time and I'm lucky to have a lot of support from family and friends ❤️.”
