Man, 31, Thought He'd Injured Himself Weight Training. His Pain Turned Out to Be Symptoms of a Heartbreaking Diagnosis

Man, 31, Thought He'd Injured Himself Weight Training. His Pain Turned Out to Be Symptoms of a Heartbreaking Diagnosis

Sean Sweeney tied the knot with his partner of 12 years before undergoing a nine-hour operation for his diagnosis

Escher Walcott

Wed, January 7, 2026 at 3:47 PM UTC

3 min read

Brain Tumour Research Sean Sweeney — Brain Tumour Research
Sean Sweeney

NEED TO KNOW

Sean Sweeney began experiencing symptoms including muscular pain in is neck in early 2022, putting the pain down exercise
Months later he discovered that his symptoms were actually a sign of a terminal diagnosis
Sweeney married his partner of 12 years, Lucy, before undergoing a nine-hour operation for his diagnosis

A 31-year-old man from England who believed he'd injured himself weight training was shocked to learn his symptoms were actually a sign of brain cancer.

Sean Sweeney, from South Yorkshire, was diagnosed with a high-grade brain tumor in July 2022, the U.K. charity Brain Tumour Research shared in a post on Facebook.

Sweeney told the charity he initially thought he’d injured himself weight training after he began experiencing frequent headaches, muscular pain in his neck and tingling down his right side months earlier.

At the time, he book several physiotherapist appointments, but he was later discharged after “they couldn’t identify the cause of the pain."

“That was worrying. I remember feeling frustrated and unsettled, thinking, 'I don't feel right,' but not being able to explain why,” said Sweeney. “I was struggling to concentrate and the symptoms just kept lingering."

Then, that July, Sweeney suffered a sudden seizure in the early hours and was woken by his partner of 12 years, Lucy. He was taken to Doncaster Royal Infirmary, where a junior doctor told him they'd found a lesion on his brain following a CT scan.

"I felt completely numb. I didn’t cry or panic — my mind went straight to Lucy and my family," he said.

Surgeons initially believed Sweeney's tumor might be low-grade and he tied the knot with Lucy before his surgery, but after a undergoing a nine-hour craniotomy in November 2022, he was told he had grade 3 astrocytoma, a more aggressive form of brain cancer, per Brain Tumour Research.

He was also told he only had 10 years to live, according to the Daily Mail.

During the surgery, Sweeney also suffered an acute stroke, per the charity.

"Because I was awake, I actually remember the moment things changed. I could hear the psychologist telling the surgeon that my speech was becoming slurred," he said. The following day, physiotherapists noticed problems with my walking, and one side of my face had dropped."

Sweeney said though the experience was "frightening," through rehabilitation he has recovered and "today, you wouldn’t know I'd had a stroke at all."

The 31-year-old began five weeks of radiotherapy in January 2023, followed by 12 rounds of chemotherapy, which he finished in February 2024.

"Telling my mum, Kathleen, was incredibly difficult," Sweeney said of his diagnosis. "She was shocked and initially believed my surgery meant I was cured, and it took time and many hard conversations for her to understand that there is no cure for my tumour."

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Sweeney is now focused on rebuilding his life.

Brain Tumour Research Sean Sweeney rings a bell in the hospital — Brain Tumour Research
Sean Sweeney rings a bell in the hospital

“Two years on, he’s back at work, cycling and fundraising for Brain Tumour Research alongside his family, sharing his story to give others hope and support our vital research into aggressive brain tumours,” said Brain Tumour Research.

Sweeney added, "If there’s one message I’d share with anyone facing a similar diagnosis, it’s this: stay positive and try not to dwell on what’s out of your control. It’s not easy, but I truly believe a positive mindset can help you keep moving forward."

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