It started with headaches. Then they got worse, so bad, that Jordan Dolbear had to take time off from his clinical placement for his nursing degree.
But then the 24-year-old Aucklander started getting nausea and double vision as well.
By November 11, his doctor was telling him and his family that he had a malignant stage-four tumour on his brain.
"It was definitely a bit surreal. I was almost in shock when I heard, so I guess disbelief and shock was the first stage and it took a while for me to comprehend that I've actually got cancer. Even now I just try and block it out."
He said he was fortunate that the diagnosis came during his last semester of his nursing degree studies through Manukau Institute of Technology as he managed to scrape through with a pass, despite missing 40 hours.
Now, all he has to sit is the state exam which he hoped to do in March, if not July.
Dolbear said he had always kept pretty healthy; has been an avid soccer player all his life, was a regular gymgoer and ate relatively clean and didn't smoke.
"You just think it won't happen to you, ever. But here we are."
After his initial doctor's visits, he was told he'd probably caught a virus or bad flu and was advised to rest.
But when he got worse he admitted himself to Middlemore Hospital where they carried a CT scan.
"The found the growth. They found a 5cm tumour in the frontal lobe of my brain and got transferred to Auckland Hospital's neurosurgery department straight away and from there I was given a date for surgery."
The November 1 surgery was a success and a lot of his symptoms disappeared. A biopsy of the tumour was sent for testing and he was then given the bad news.
The diagnosis has meant he's had to move out of his flat and mum, Sandra, has left her job as a social worker for the Canterbury District Health Board and moved to Auckland to help care for her son.
The pair have moved into a small flat together.
He admitted it had been a tough time, especially for his mum.
"She was devastated to hear the news, to be honest. She has been strong for me but every now and then she gets tearful and gets down a little bit."
He was planning on heading to Christchurch for Christmas but that will now be spent in Auckland with family including his two sisters Chloe, 27, and Brisbane-based sister, Brooke, 22.
Now that he had his pain and symptoms under control he had been booked in to begin radiation and chemotherapy treatment later this month , and he was enjoying getting a bit of normality back in his day.
"I'm still doing everyday normal things. When it happened I was pretty unwell and in a lot of pain but now I'm out and about. I went to church today, I've started back at the gym doing light exercises and can do everyday things like cook but I'm still taking it easy because I do get headaches every now and then.
But the costs are building and an old Elim Christian School friend, Joshua Robinson, has set up a givealittle page to help the family with their expenses.
Dolbear has been humbled by the act and said people had offered to help but admitted there wasn't a lot they could do.
"There's not a lot you can do, but I guess financially trying to move into a new place and things it really does have an effect on everything so this is going to help. And the treatment up here is the best, the oncology teams and neurosurgeons in Auckland is where I have to be. I'm in good hands here."
• Anyone wanting to donate to Jordan's cause can head here:
https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/jordandolbear