Trevor Schwehr was studying abroad in Sydney, Australia, during the spring of 2019. He was having random episodes of dizziness, nausea, and light-headedness, which he wrote off as anxiety.

After returning to his hometown of Boise, Idaho, Trevor felt dizzy while working on a construction job with his dad. His parents encouraged him to see a doctor, but he declined. Then, after returning to the University of Utah (U of U) for the fall semester, Trevor suffered a seizure while meeting with a professor.

This time, his family refused to let him write it off as anxiety or a migraine. On September 15, the week of his twenty-second birthday, Trevor went to the emergency department. Doctors did not see anything out of the ordinary.

“My sister is a doctor and she insisted I get a CT scan,” Trevor says. “I tried to avoid it, but a week later, my little brother drove me to the hospital.”

An MRI showed Trevor had a grade II astrocytoma in his right temporal lobe. He was admitted for emergency brain surgery, which left him with an incision in his temple by his ear that went around his head.

“There were a lot of jokes, since I was an engineer and a very left-brained person,” Trevor adds.

Astrocytomas are the most common type of tumor in the brain and spinal cord. Fifty percent of brain tumors are astrocytomas, which usually occur in people over the age of 45.

Trevor started his treatment with targeted radiation and temozolomide. He then took oral chemotherapy and had regular check-ins for all of 2020. During that time, he also returned to school and started to reevaluate his life.

“I was very lucky. My care team at Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) was incredibly friendly. At the beginning, I felt prepared for what I was about to go through. I was almost sad at the end because I wouldn’t be going in anymore for radiation to see my treatment team [neurosurgeon Sarah Menacho, MD, oncologist Joe Mendez, MD, and social worker Deborah Harless] and their smiling faces.”

Trevor continued to get emotional support from his social worker and met with her every two to three weeks after chemo ended.

He also gathered inspiration from his sister and the doctors at HCI to begin work on a pair of projects. One is a steerable magnetic needle used for minimally invasive surgery in the brain. The other is a neck traction device to provide better access during surgeries.

“Originally, my plan was to graduate with a degree in mechanical engineering and robotics, and go into aerospace. But after being around all of the patients, staff, and equipment at HCI, I decided to aim for medical robotics.” Trevor received his degree from the U of U and is continuing his research in graduate school at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.

His experience with cancer also led Trevor to become closer with family, friends, and faith. He realized how important it is to stay connected. A phone call with his older cousin, Kate, created a lasting bond between the two.

“She was diagnosed with stage IV breast cancer a couple years ago and we barely knew each other,” Trevor says. “She was one of the first ones to reach out. She called me one day while I was still recovering, so I wasn't really up to phone calls. She left me a voicemail, and I very clearly remember her saying, ‘Welcome to the most amazing group of people you never wanted to be a part of.’”

Kate got married in 2020, with Trevor in attendance. She continues to fight and has been a source of great inspiration for Trevor. “It has brought me to tears. I don't know what I would have done without her support and advice. All of my family have been incredibly supportive throughout this process, but she was the only one who really knew what I was going through.”

Trevor does not know what the future holds, but he is grateful for each and every day.

“The first two weeks, I was praying to survive, praying to live. I think God literally smacked me upside my head. It was a reality check that life is fragile. People won’t always be around, so it’s important to reach out while you can.”