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Originally published May 14, 2026
Last updated May 14, 2026
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In early 2023, Ben McGuerty was suffering from incapacitating headaches, and they were only getting worse. He wasn’t quite himself, either. He was constantly losing items like his phone and wallet, and people close to him said his behavior and personality had changed.
“I didn’t know what they were talking about,” Ben says. “My life was falling apart, and I couldn’t see it for myself.”
At the time, Ben was teaching independent living skills to young adults with intellectual disabilities and spectrum disorders. In his off-hours, he enjoyed biking around Los Angeles and playing basketball.
Ben’s symptoms were making these things difficult, if not impossible. Desperate for a diagnosis, he saw a wide range of specialists. Eventually, he met a neurologist who listened to his symptoms, then ordered an MRI that would save his life.
On April 13, 2023, the neurologist called Ben to tell him the MRI had revealed a large lesion in his brain. He needed immediate medical attention. The neurologist referred him to an emergency room at a local hospital. Ben would soon undergo a craniotomy to remove as much of the mass as safely possible. Analysis identified the tumor as a grade 4 astrocytoma, a highly aggressive form of brain cancer previously known as a glioblastoma.
With most of the mass removed, radiation and chemotherapy became the next step. Unfortunately, insurance complications made it necessary for Ben to return to New York — where he had recently relocated from — to receive treatment.
After his first round of radiation and chemotherapy in New York, Ben started working on a plan to return to Los Angeles and continue his treatment there. He was three months into his second round of chemotherapy treatment, with no tumor progression and nine months of chemotherapy to go.
Ben chose the USC Brain Tumor Center, part of the USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center and Keck Medicine, for his continued cancer treatment in Los Angeles.
It was here that Ben met neuro-oncologist Frances Chow, MD, in December 2023. Dr. Chow and her team supported Ben throughout his remaining chemotherapy cycles. Dr. Chow met with him each month to make sure the chemotherapy was working without taking too much of a toll on his body.
Ben completed his last chemotherapy treatment in September 2024. Since then, he has been getting MRIs every three months to make sure the cancer hasn’t returned.
Because Keck Medicine is an integrated health care system, Dr. Chow was also able to refer him to any specialist he needed, including a palliative care specialist to help him make adjustments to his life after treatment, and to better communicate his experiences with friends. He was also sent to a physical therapist, as well as a dermatologist to monitor his skin for side effects related to therapy. At the USC Brain Tumor Center, clinical social worker Jinsy Rogers, LCSW, helped guide Ben throughout the course of his treatment. Rogers launched and continues to lead the USC Brain Tumor Center’s support group meetings for patients and caregivers. She creates a safe place for them to connect by sharing their experiences. Participants such as Ben can participate in person or by Zoom from across the country.
Since Ben’s tumor was removed, there have not been any signs of regrowth, and he receives regular follow-up care from Keck Medicine, including oncology, physical therapy and dermatology.
Now focused on writing and advocacy for young adults facing cancer, Ben highlights the experiences of adolescents and young adults, including those facing cancer. He also writes think pieces offering them guidance and advice, such as the importance of finding a community of fellow cancer survivors.
“These are the people who will most understand and relate to the complicated feelings brought up by serious illness,” he says.
Ben also encourages patients and survivors to reach out to loved ones and communities when they need help.
“It’s a necessary part of the treatment process,” he says. “Ask for more help than you think you need, because you will need way more than you expect.”
Ben still deals with the long-term effects of the cancer and the treatment that saved him, such as poor sleep and sensitivities to certain foods. He’s also still healing his body through physical therapy.
Ben says knowing the expertise of his care team and the fact that they stay up to date on clinical trials happening for patients with his condition gives him confidence that if and when the cancer returns in full, they will provide him with the best treatment options available.
“I feel like I was given the best outcome I could have dared to ask for at the beginning of treatment,” Ben says. “And if I am faced with another health crisis, I have a team of skilled medical providers who would be able to handle it.”
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