{"id":35382,"date":"2025-08-24T11:48:14","date_gmt":"2025-08-24T11:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=35382"},"modified":"2025-08-24T11:48:14","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T11:48:14","slug":"man-reveals-bizarre-symptom-smelling-cotton-candy-before-cancer-diagnosis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/?p=35382","title":{"rendered":"Man reveals bizarre symptom smelling cotton candy before cancer diagnosis"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A British man has detailed a bizarre symptom of smelling cotton candy prior to be diagnosed with an aggressive and incurable form of cancer.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Steve Turnbull, 63, was diagnosed with a glioblastoma<\/a> after months of strange smells, sickness, and problems with his vision and balance.<\/p>\n

The dad-of-two<\/a> first became unwell shortly after New Year’s Day 2024, when he suddenly vomited after tasting gravy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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A few days later, he was hit by a wave of bizarre<\/a> smells including candy floss – which left Steve in a state of confusion.<\/p>\n

“A few days after the gravy incident, I blew out a candle and was hit by a strange smell of candy floss,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Then I was sick again. That became the pattern.<\/p>\n

“I also had vision problems. Around that time, I was referred to gastroenterology, but they dismissed it. We just didn’t know what was going on.”<\/p>\n

After he noticed other symptoms like losing his balance, headaches and difficulty walking, an MRI<\/a> scan revealed a brain tumor the size of a tennis ball.<\/p>\n

Steve added: “Being diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor was a terrifying truth.<\/p>\n

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\"Steve<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Steve has an aggressive brain tumor (SWNS)<\/cite><\/div>\n

“If my story helps someone push for a scan when something feels wrong, it is worth telling.<\/p>\n

“Even those early symptoms, like strange smells and sudden sickness, might make sense to someone else now.”<\/p>\n

While initially not thinking it was cancer<\/a>, Steve’s symptoms persisted to the point where he had a suspected stroke at his daughter’s wedding.<\/p>\n

Steve said: “I gave a speech and walked her down the aisle.<\/p>\n

“By the evening, I was losing my balance, my speech was slurred, and one side of my mouth had drooped.<\/p>\n

“I don’t drink, so everyone knew something was seriously wrong.”<\/p>\n

While doctors initially suspected he had suffered a mini stroke, multiple tests came back clear. He was sent home more than once, despite worsening headaches and difficulty walking.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t until he received an MRI scan in June last year that the cause became clear.<\/p>\n

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Doctors didn’t initially think it was cancer (SWNS)<\/cite><\/div>\n

On top of having surgery, Steve went on to have 30 sessions of radiotherapy, alongside chemotherapy with temozolomide.<\/p>\n

The cancer has progressed however, which lead to Steve beginning a second-line chemotherapy (PCV), which he completed in July 2025.<\/p>\n

The Scot is currently awaiting the results of a follow-up MRI to determine next steps.<\/p>\n

A fundraiser<\/a> has been set up for ‘Brain Tumor Research’, while Steve’s niece and nephew, Erin and Rhys, will also do the Edinburgh Marathon next year to fund vital research into glioblastoma.<\/p>\n

Steve said: “It means everything to know others want to help.<\/p>\n

“Research into brain tumours is so underfunded even though it’s the biggest cancer killer of children and adults under 40.<\/p>\n

“That needs to change. If my story helps someone push for a scan when something feels wrong, it is worth telling.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/cite><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    A British man has detailed a bizarre symptom of smelling cotton candy prior to be diagnosed with an aggressive and incurable form of cancer. Steve Turnbull, 63, was … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":35383,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-35382","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35382","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=35382"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35382\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35384,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35382\/revisions\/35384"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/35383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=35382"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=35382"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usdailys.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=35382"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}