Tiny Pretty Things’ Barton Cowperthwaite Reveals Stage 2 Brain Tumor Diagnosis

Tiny Pretty Things alum Barton Cowperthwaite revealed on Friday that he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, saying doctors found “at least a stage 2” glioma — a growth of cells that starts in the brain or spinal cord.

“It is a fairly decent sized brain tumor,” Cowperthwaite, 31, wrote on Instagram. “The tumor’s cells originate in the brain, so it’s not spread from a cancer anywhere else in the body.”

More from TVLine

The actor and ballet dancer went on to detail his upcoming treatment, saying the only way forward is brain surgery — which he expects to have done within the next couple of weeks.

“Docs so far have been confident that they’ll be able to remove most of the tumor, and that after a successful operation, and some rehab, I will be operating like my (amazing, talented, brilliant, hilarious) self,” he wrote. He added that even after a successful surgery, however, “scans and check ups will be a part of my life for its lengthy remainder.”

Cowperthwaite concluded his post by saying he’ll share his healing journey online along the way and that he’s “planning on fully bouncing back to be better than my former glory!”

In addition to his role as Oren Lennox in Netflix’s Tiny Pretty Things, a drama series based on Sona Charaipotra and Dhonielle Clayton’s book about an elite ballet academy, Cowperthwaite also appeared in Girls5eva and the TV movie Center Stage: On Pointe.

Best of TVLine

Get more from TVLine.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter