In a stroke of luck, a man from Illinois has discovered that he actually has a malignant brain tumor after participating in a chili sauce challenge.
Sharing his story in ABC News, 30-year-old Randy Schmitz, who's originally from Orland Park in Illinois, was spending a holiday with his family in South Carolina. They were walking in Myrtle Beach when he came across an ongoing challenge in one of the sauce stores.
Pepper Palace was promoting its chili sauce, Flash Bang, which may be the hottest ever because of its ingredients that included habanero, jolokia, scorpion, and Carolina reaper, which is considered the world's hottest pepper in 2012.
The challenge was simple: using a toothpick, drop a small amount of the sauce on the tongue. If the person can hold it, he wins. (It's unclear what prize is waiting for the winner.)
An avid fan of challenges, Schmitz knew this was something he couldn't pass up. So he signed up and proceeded with the directions. However, 5 minutes into the competition, he was feeling very sick. In fact, he was so ill that he advised his sister, who also wanted to participate, to hold off such decision for a bit.
The next thing he remembered, he was already on a stretcher with too much vomit on his shirt. It turned out that he eventually developed a seizure, which then prompted the attending physician to request for an MRI. It was then they discovered there was a growing tumor in his brain, which was malignant.
The family returned to Illinois a few days after his admission. He was admitted in Northwestern Memorial Hospital where he underwent surgery to remove the tumor. After that, he received radiation treatments to clear his body with the remaining cancer cells. By the time he was done with his protocol, he was ready for his wedding.
Looking back, Schmitz credits the discovery of his cancer to the chili sauce challenge. If it weren't for his experience, he believed the tumor could have grown until it becomes inoperable.