Median survival time
I recently sat down to catch up with a great friend. After a while he asked, “So what’s the deal with the cancer?” “Didn’t you read the email-update Brett sent?” I said. “I don’t read that bullshit,” he said. “That’s for the people you don’t know as well as me.” I laughed at what he...
Glioma girls day
Today I hung out with three women who all have gliomas. We all live in northern California, and we all use Apple computers. Two of us are left handed. Three of us wear glasses and short hair. All of us are badasses.
What number am I on?
I am supposed to start another round of Temodar in about a week, but I can’t remember which number I’m on. I mean, I can easily go into my calendar, or look at past e-mails with my neuro-oncologist, but if I were to rely on memory right now I am teetering between number 20 or...
On Temodar with you, and you, and you
I met Erin’s husband at a brain tumor support group shortly after her craniotomy and diagnosis (grade 4 glioblastoma, holy smokes!). Erin had given birth to her second child just 4th months prior to going to the ER in July 2009. I remember reading in her blog later that she was glad she didn’t find...
New research, all the time
From Why don’t brain tumors respond to medication? — Science Daily For gliomas, treatment with Mapatumumab appears to be particularly interesting as the death receptor is usually found only on tumor cells, not on other brain cells. Since glioma growth is especially invasive into brain tissue, surgical removal is impossible and chemotherapy is very difficult....
Fuck brain cancer
At this time last year I was having seizures and still didn’t know what was wrong with me. I had seizures at Target, seizures at Starbucks, seizures in the shower, seizures while playing cards in my living room. Within a few weeks I was diagnosed with a glioma around the same time as Sen. Ted...
You mean you want to pay me?
At the end of my appointment today at UCSF I was invited to participate in a study. The purpose of the study is to keep track of people like me to see how we do over time and try to identify the possible causes of brain tumors (as they are unknown). The study will also...
