Man turns MRI machine sounds into music to cope with brain tumor

By Ben Barry

A man who was diagnosed with a brain tumor has turned the noise of an MRI machine into music - to relax while undergoing scans.

Alastair Cross, 40, first realized something was wrong when he started suffering from visual disturbances and intense headaches.

He originally put it down to stress but his doctor sent him for an MRI scan due to his sister previously being diagnosed with a brain tumor.

The result showed Alastair a mass on his brain and he underwent a craniotomy which removed 80 percent of it.

A biopsy then revealed it was a grade 2 astrocytoma - a slow-growing brain tumor.

Alastair decided against chemotherapy and radiotherapy to remove the rest of the tumor and has had more than 20 MRI scans to date to monitor its growth.

Alastair found a unique way to cope with his frequent MRI scans by using the sounds and rhythms of the machine in his music.

Alastair, a visual effects artist, from Dublin, Ireland, now living in Vancouver, Canada, said: "The scans themselves are fine, but I admit there is always an element of nervousness about the conversation I have after the scans with my oncologist.

"I've been playing music since I was a kid and lying in the machine I often found myself drifting off to the rhythm of the different phases.

"I could imagine other instruments weaving in and out of the pattern the MRI machine was making, and I thought it would be cool to record them and see if I could create something musical from those sounds.

"I have created a unique and deeply personal body of work using the sounds from my regular MRI scans, transforming them into music that tells a story of resilience, hope, and empowerment."

Alastair started noticing visual disturbances - "visual Déjà vu " - and intense headaches in the summer of 2017.

His GP put it down to stress and Alastair agreed but his doctor sent him for an MRI due to his family history.

Alastair said: "I started to experience vision disturbances where I was unable to see people fully.

"It was very sporadic and not regular so I put it down to stress and migraines.

"The reason I got sent for an MRI was because my sister was diagnosed with a brain tumor prior to me."

In September 2018, Alastair had his first MRI scan which showed there was a mass on his brain.

Then in November, he had an awake craniotomy where 80 percent of the tumor was removed.

Alastair said: "The tumor was encased in an optic pathway at the right side of my head.

"They would scan an area of the brain and I would be doing field tests on an iPad.

"They were using that to gauge if the area they stunned was critical to my vision."

After his craniotomy, a biopsy revealed Alastair had a grade 2 astrocytoma - a slow-growing brain tumor.

He was offered chemotherapy and radiotherapy but decided against that and instead is taking a more metabolic approach to his recovery.

And is having his tumor monitored the tumor with regular MRI scans.

Alastair said: "A few days after surgery I went to see the consultant who said the tumor was low grade which was a relief.

"They offered chemo and radiotherapy but I opted to monitor it.

"I had scans every three months and now I have them every six months.

"Some of my MRI scans have showed growth and some have been stable but I haven't wanted to do chemo or radio.

"I have opted out of those treatment options because my quality of life is good.

"I am not ruling it out in the future but I am just not there yet."

Since his diagnosis, Alastair has had more than 20 MRI scans and says his way of coping with them is turning the noise of the machine into music.

He said: "I found once I got over the initial claustrophobia of the scan and I was able to relax myself I could hear noises and beats.

"I used to hear melodies and I thought it would be a cool thing to sample and capture.

"When I started it became a cathartic process that helped me reframe everything from the fear of the future and diagnosis to maybe that there is a point of this.

"I do feel a lot more content in my life than I did before."

Catherine Fraher, Director of Services and Digital Health at The Brain Tumor Charity, said: "We're really grateful to everyone who shares their story to raise awareness of brain tumors.

"We know that every family deals with a brain tumor diagnosis and its aftermath in their own unique way.

"That's why The Brain Tumour Charity offers support to anyone who needs it. It’s so important for them to know that they are not alone."