My mom had a different type of brain cancer, a glioblastoma. She had always been in excellent health; but started having balance problems. She fell and hurt her shoulder and my dad took her to the ER (happened in the middle of the night). They did routine blood work; found abnormalities, did more tests. Within a day or two they found the tumor. Like Mr. O'Connor, mom had infection problems from the shunt inserted to relieve pressure (her tumor was invasive and inoperable). She was a tiny woman, but the grand mal seizures she had were horrific. From the news accounts Mr. O'Connor's situation sounds so similar to what happened with mom. My prayers are with the family.
My mother also had a glioblastoma. This was nearly 20 years ago, and the the doctors didn't recommend any treatment at all. They gave her two months to live after the diagnosis, and she passed away quietly at home two months later. We wondered at the time if treatment would have helped, but it appears there was nothing that could have been done.