Former Bachelor in Paradise star Joe Amabile is opening up after undergoing surgery to remove a brain tumor.
The reality star and podcast host, 40, spoke with Good Morning America to share an update three weeks after his surgery about what lies ahead for him, including taking daily medication and waiting for his speech to return.
“I still struggle a little bit,” Amabile said about his difficulties with speech after the surgery. “I could think of what to say, but I would have a hard time vocalizing it. And I would say I’m about 90% back.”
Amabile said he first learned about the tumor in July after doing an elective full-body MRI screening. He talked about it in an Instagram post, revealing that he’d need to have surgery to remove the “blueberry-sized lesion” in his left frontal lobe.
“According to my doctor, I wouldn’t probably know about this until I eventually had a seizure,” Amabile said in an interview that aired Friday on GMA.
Amabile’s doctor, Dr. Alexandra Miller, chief of neuro-oncology at the Perlmutter Cancer Center, told GMA that follow-up scans at NYU Medical Center pointed toward a tumor called an astrocytoma.
Miller said the tumor has a “good prognosis,” adding, “It was a really good thing and very lucky that he was able to find it early.”
According to the National Cancer Institute, astrocytoma is a type of glioma, or tumor, that forms in star-shaped cells called astrocytes in the brain and spinal cord.
Astrocytomas may be benign or malignant and are grouped based on their grade, which is determined by how abnormal the tumor cells look under a microscope and how quickly the tumor is likely to grow, spread and come back after treatment, according to the NCI.
Low-grade astrocytomas are more common in children, while high-grade astrocytomas, such as glioblastoma, tend to grow and spread within the brain and spinal cord quickly and are more common in adults.
The NCI says treatment for astrocytoma in addition to surgery includes observation, radiation therapy, chemotherapy and targeted therapy.
The reality star went in for surgery in early August and the procedure was successful. Amabile said he’s also taking daily medication to keep the tumor at bay.
After spending four days in the hospital and more time recovering at home, Amabile said that he was able to get back to his routines, including taking a run just 15 days after his surgery, which he documented on Instagram.
Following the surgery, Amabile said sharing his experience with others, including documenting his experience on social media, has been “super important.”
“I think being able to share so other people can relate, and people who are going through it, I think is, it’s super important,” Amabile said.
By his side through all of it has been his wife, Serena Pitt, whom he met on Bachelor in Paradise.
“Unexpected challenges are going to be thrown your way and I feel like it has made me feel very grateful for the partner that I chose,” Pitt told GMA.
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