Identical twin's headaches lead to life-saving discovery of tumour

A Sydney man suffering from persistent headaches convinced his identical twin brother to get an MRI, discovering a brain tumour by doing so. An MRI scan revealed nothing wrong with Craig Gurney but his brother Brenton, who did not suffer any headaches, found he had a rare brain tumour in the base of his skull.

"We're really closely connected and we've always been able to pick each other, know what each other were thinking," Craig said. The MRIs were conducted as part of a medical study of twins that Craig persuaded Brenton to undergo. "There's no doubt in my mind that Brenton's actions and getting involved in the study effectively saved my life," Mr Gurney said.



The 4cm tumour was safely removed and Brenton is now recovering well. "When Craig came to see us he was quite shell-shocked, along with his wife, because he was completely asymptomatic," specialist surgeon Dr Narinder Singh said. The brothers have participated in twin research studies since their mother registered them with The Australian Twin Registry soon after birth.

The brothers believe it's almost a duty for twins to take part in studies so that scientists can learn more about the extent to which genes and the environment impact on their health. "In terms of Brenton's and Craig's case, where one twin was feeling the symptoms of the other, that clearly shows that there’s a lot more to know and this kind of research is central to mental health," Westmead Millennium Institute's Dr Justine Gatt said.

With news video.