• In the video above: Brain tumor symptoms – you shouldn’t ignore these warning signs

These are the darkest hours of his life: professional footballer Eduard Löwen mourns the loss of his wife Ilona Löwen. The 29-year-old died on March 9, 2026 from cancer – a brain tumor.

Ilona Löwen dies of brain cancer

Doctors diagnosed Ilona Löwen with a benign brain tumor when she was a child. Initially, the doctors assumed that it would not grow – a “huge relief” at the time, as Ilona Löwen in the podcast “deep talk“ reported in February 2025.

But in 2024 everything should turn out differently. “At the beginning of this year I suddenly started having very bad headaches and they just kept getting worse and worse.” At first she thought it was due to stress.

The young couple had just bought a house in St. Louis, where Eduard Löwen plays for the St. Louis City FC club, and started renovation work. They also had to fly to Germany unscheduled. “I thought that was normal. I thought that was just how my body reacts to this stress,” reports Ilona Löwen. At first she suspected migraines behind her extreme headaches. She ruled out her brain tumor as the cause because doctors had assured her when she was a child that it wouldn’t grow.

Because of the pain, Ilona Löwen could neither eat nor drink

Eventually the pain got so bad that Ilona Löwen could neither eat nor drink. Because she was constantly vomiting and quickly losing a lot of weight, she and her husband went to the emergency room at a nearby hospital. An MRI finally showed that the tumor had enlarged.

While Ilona Löwen initially didn’t want to accept the findings, it filled Eduard Löwen with pain. “It was still one of the worst moments for me in all this time, seeing him like that,” Ilona Löwen reported tearfully in the podcast.

Since the tumor had completely occupied the brain cavities and prevented the brain fluid from draining, the architecture student had to undergo immediate surgery. Before the operation, in which parts of the tumor were to be removed, she was very afraid because of possible consequential damage such as paralysis. Finally, the difficult operation on the Tuesday after Easter went well and a large part of the tumor was removed.

The benign brain tumor had suddenly become malignant

However, the initial relief was followed by the second shock: a tissue examination of the remaining tumor mass in the brain revealed that the initially benign tumor had suddenly become malignant. “The doctors couldn’t make sense of it either,” said Eduard Löwen in the podcast.

Further examinations then revealed a diagnosis of stage 4 brain cancer – the most aggressive form. “I was so broken. I can’t describe it other than complete destruction,” said Ilona Löwen. Eduard Löwen added: “My biggest fear was always losing her.” Back then, the couple drew strength from their Christian faith and the support of those around them.

In October 2024, another MRI showed that the tumor had grown again. On March 9th, Ilona Löwen died after her battle with cancer.

“In fact, brain tumors are rare”

Every year I get sick loudly German Brain Tumor Aid Around 7,200 people in this country suffer from a malignant brain tumor. These account for 95 percent of all cancers of the central nervous system.

Men are affected slightly more often than women. Compared to other cancers such as breast or Colon cancer Tumors of the central nervous system only account for around two percent of cancer cases in Germany. “Indeed they are Brain tumors rare and the worries are therefore very often unfounded,” says the German Brain Foundation’s website.

Brain tumors are tenth on the list of cancer-related deaths. According to the, in 2023 died Center for Cancer Registry Data more than 6000 people attended.

• Seizures
• Speech disorders
• paralysis and
• Vision problems.

Headaches are a rare symptom

Many people also fear that they have a brain tumor if they have a headache. According to Wolf-Oliver Krohn, neurologist and patient advisor at the German Brain Foundation, this is the case for one in two people who visit a neurological practice because of headaches. “The probability is less than one in a thousand,” says Krohn.

However, headaches should be taken seriously. You can on indicate other health problems such as

• inflammation in the head,
• Problems with sinuses or eyes as well
• high blood pressure.

You should therefore be examined urgently if the pain is very severe, occurs suddenly or for the first time. This also applies to known headache problems in which the pain changes or becomes stronger – like Ilona Löwen.

Treatment options for a brain tumor

In addition to operations, there is also radiation and chemotherapy. Significant advances in accuracy and tolerability have been made in recent decades.

Brain tumors can also be diagnosed very well using computer tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). “These examinations can be supplemented by further representations, for example of nerve cell connections and brain function, in order to plan an operation with millimeter precision,” say the experts at the Brain Foundation. Some types of brain tumors can also be detected in the cerebrospinal fluid (cerebrospinal fluid).

The cause and risk factors for brain cancer are largely unknown

Loud German Cancer Society Despite intensive research, the cause of the development of a brain tumor is still largely unknown. In most patients, these tumors occur without any triggering factors being found.

Lifestyle and nutritional habits such as smoking or excessive alcohol consumption, which are of great importance for the occurrence of other cancers, do not play a role here.

There is also no convincing evidence that stress, unusual psychological stress or certain environmental influences (increased exposure of the brain to electromagnetic fields in the area of ​​high-voltage lines or excessive use of cell phones) lead to an increase in brain tumors.

Only direct radioactive irradiation of the nervous system, such as is necessary to treat leukemia, is associated with a slightly increased risk. But this is only important for a fraction of patients.