Man diagnosed with brain tumor finds hope in alternative treatment

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BARAGA -- When Robert Hockings was diagnosed with a brain tumor, he feared for the worst.

"I thought, '55 years isn't too bad, I've lived a good life so far it's probably coming to an end,'" recalled Hockings.

Hockings works as a corrections officer at the Baraga Maximum Correctional Facility and it's there where an incident triggered a series of events that lead to his diagnosis.

Back in May Hockings suffered a blow to the head during an inmate altercation at the prison. Hockings says that moment ended up changing his life.

Hockings only thought he suffered a concussion, but severe and constant head-aches brought him back to the hospital. A CT scan revealed a mass growing near his brain and Hockings was rushed to Marquette General where he was diagnosed him with the tumor.

He consulted with doctors at the Mayo Clinic, who recommended a heavily invasive procedure.

"Their procedure there at Mayo in Rochester would be an open craniotomy where they cut you ear to ear, peel your face down and take a large portion of your skull cap off then lift your brain and operate at this tumor that's underneath your brain," said Hockings.

Hockings decided to search for alternatives on the internet where he discovered the Skull Base Institute in California.

He took interest in the Institutes' endoscopic procedure, where surgeons only make an incision on along the eye brow.

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Man diagnosed with brain tumor finds hope in alternative treatment