When 57-year-old Costa Fantis began catching random whiffs of a strange, sweet caramel smell, no one imagined it would be a warning sign of a fatal illness.
“He was healthy, active — the last person you’d expect to be seriously ill,” said his son, Antonio. The only clue? A fleeting, phantom scent that came and went without warning.
At first, the family chalked it up to nothing. “We didn’t think much of it,” Antonio told the Daily Mail. “He smelled it maybe once a month. It was odd, but we thought it was harmless.”
But after encouraging Costa to get a scan — especially given his history with childhood epilepsy — the truth hit hard: doctors discovered he had stage 4 IDH-wildtype glioblastoma, an aggressive and incurable brain tumor.
Phantosmia, or phantom smells, like the sweet scent Costa described, is a rare but known symptom of brain tumors. In many cases, it’s overlooked — or dismissed entirely.
“There were no other signs,” Antonio said. “That’s what makes it so frightening. He looked and felt perfectly fine.”
Since his diagnosis in April 2024, Costa has undergone chemotherapy and radiation, but with limited hope. “The treatments haven’t changed in 20 years,” Antonio noted. Now the family is exploring alternative therapies — and clinging to time.
“It’s terrifying,” he added. “You’re told to ‘enjoy your life’ in the most devastating way possible.”
Costa’s story is a sobering reminder: even the smallest, strangest symptom can signal something serious. And sometimes, the sweetest scent can be a silent scream.
