Former WWE wrestler Matt Cappotelli had surgery in June to remove part of a brain tumor, with Cappotelli describing part of it as inoperable and "will have to be dealt with at a later time".
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Sadly, WDRB in Louisville is reporting that the the parts of the tumor around Cappotelli's brain stem are inoperable and described the case as "terminal".
In June, surgeons removed 90 percent of the mass pressing on Cappotelli's skull. The remaining 10 percent is being treated with chemotherapy, but it's next to the brain stem, considered too dangerous to touch. It's terminal, and doctors say only five percent of patients survive five years.
This is Cappotelli's second fight with a brain tumor, with the first case coming in 2007. Cappotelli's second tumor has been classified as GlioBlastoma Multiforme. According to MDAnderson.org, GlioBlastoma Multiforme is the "most aggressive and are very infiltrative - they spread into other parts of the brain quickly." It is considered one of the most malignant of cancers.
Cappotelli, a former football player at Western Michigan, won the Tough Enough III competition back in 2003, which earned him a WWE contract. Cappotelli made various appearances on WWE television before being sent to the company's developmental territory OVW in 2004. Cappotelli was still working there when a brain tumor was first discovered in 2007, and his WWE contract eventually expired in 2009.
Cappotelli most recrently worked as a trainer with OVW.
We wish him and his family the best as they deal with this diagnosis.
[H/T 411Mania]
