(CNN) In June, a young boy named Gabe received life-saving brain surgery. But he felt self-conscious about the horseshoe-shaped scar that was left behind.

His dad, realizing the impact it was having on Gabe, got a tattoo on his head to match his son's incision.

Josh Marshall's tattoo matches the scar on his son's head.

Both bald, dad and son held strong. Now, six months later, the two must be stronger than ever: Gabe's brain cancer is back.

"Pretty much we were told that the tumor is becoming more active," Gabe's dad Josh Marshall told CNN affiliate KWCH. "Because of the location that it's at, it's inoperable."

Marshall says the painful experience has been a roller coaster ride -- ineffable even.

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