Support groups are not for everyone
I’ve been in a state of brain cancer reflection this week as I prepare for two upcoming presentations related to patient engagement through digital media. (I know, I’m a nerd.) Then I remembered this day… The bus About four weeks after my first brain surgery I decided to go to my first cancer support group...
Brain surgery: the inside story (pun slightly intended)
I volunteer as a “Mentor Angel” with a group called Imerman Angels. This organization carefully matches and individually pairs people touched by cancer (a cancer fighter, survivor or caregiver) with someone who has fought and survived the same type of cancer (a Mentor Angel). I’ve been volunteering with Imerman Angels for nearly six months, and before...
The birth of the brain tumor hashtag on Twitter (and how it was inspired by the breast cancer community) #btsm
When it comes to team spirit, the breast cancer community has got it going on. This community certainly has enough patients, survivors and caregivers to give the community a boost when breast cancer accounts for a little more than 10 percent of all cancer diagnoses each year. And when it comes to advocacy, the brain...
Join my team for the Bay Area Brain Tumor Walk
Dear friends, family and people we don’t know: Are you ready to join a crew so fierce that brain cancer cowers at the mere mention of our name? Team Glioma Girls invites you to join us for the Bay Area Brain Tumor Walk in Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, California, on Saturday, May 5,...
To have a slow-growing brain tumor
Three and a half years after my diagnosis my health care system finally hired a neuro-oncologist for the Sacramento area. You’d think the California state Capitol would have a fancy oncologist a bit sooner than that, but apparently neuro-oncology isn’t a popular field (what with brain cancers representing only 1% of all cancers). Kaiser would...
Ready for bed?
I stayed up late for no reason except to enjoy it it. Brett is playing Resident Evil 2/3/whatever on the Wii. We both keep ourselves entertained each day. Wake up, pills. Breakfast and green tea. Read about neuroplasticity. Do balance exercises. Shower. Go on Facebook. Read more. Make lunch. Drink more green tea. Go for...
Don’t you hate it when biased patient populations mess up the sample?
From Gene expression analysis of glioblastomas identifies the major molecular basis for the prognostic benefit of younger age:In large academic hospitals, [tumors] come from a wide variety of patients from across different cities, states, or countries. In contrast, local hospitals treat their regional constituencies. The potential for demographically-biased patient populations and biased [tumor] subsets is...
Cancer treatment for dummies
Note: I feel guilty most of my links refer you to Wikipedia articles, but they’re usually great overviews for a topic. It’s official: I begin chemotherapy next Monday! It seems like a weird thing to be excited about, but I’ve been intrigued by this whole “brain cancer/tumor” thing all along. To begin with, neurology is...
Genius idea
Guess what I’m going to do? I’m going to borrow a keyboard and play piano for a few weeks. Piano was my first instrument and I can still read music, but I haven’t played piano in a long while (8-10 years). If I practice everyday I bet the fine motor skills in my right hand...
Notepad
Sometimes I use this space as a notepad when I find stuff explaining how I feel. Proprioception is tested by American police officers using the field sobriety test, wherein the subject is required to touch his or her nose with eyes closed. People with normal proprioception may make an error of no more than 20...
A Cliff-Notes version of the last two weeks
In the operating room, the last thing I said to Dr. Llaguno before losing consciousness was, “What up, Llaguno!” Surgery was easy and I feel fine. If you were hanging out with me right now you’d say, “Wow! You look great!” Watch my video blog 48-hours after surgery I was told that if I had...
