This blog may be one of the most important things that I've ever written. In February 2007, I was given the gravest news I've ever received. I was told that I had a slow growing brain tumor that could ultimately kill me. It was inoperable because of its location; operating could paralyze me on one side, or cause me to lose my ability to speak. How could this happen? I was 26, strong, and in good health.
The next few months I took several weeks of radiation and chemo in an attempt to "manage" the tumor. Fortunately, with great success, the treatment put the tumor into remission. But, as fallout, I now have a weakened right leg, and have partial seizures about once a week. It is tough, but I suppose things are better, at least for now.
But the reality is that with radiation, chemo, or even tumor removal, more times than not tumors recur. "Managing" a brain tumor will be a life long task.
There is no true cure for brain tumors. Brain tumor "management" is what every person with brain cancer must deal with. The saddest part of this existence is that largely the medical community as accepted these treatments as "just the way things are," and a cure just isn't a priority. People don't know much about brain tumors, and that's no accident. The medical community in my experience just has not made the effort to come up with a true cure. At the risk of sounding bitter, I found this information to be hopeless and miserable.
But, suddenly, the world of brain tumor sufferers may change. Tragically, Senator Ted Kennedy was recently diagnosed with a very agressive "glioma," similar to the one that I have (albeit mine is not as aggressive). With a country in mourning over the news, suddenly brain tumors have been thrown in the face of the public. It is my hope that the neurological community will now be forced to wake up.
No longer will we accept these limited archaic techniques. It is time to find a cure. It is time to step forward and recognize, that along with Senator Kennedy, there are many, MANY people suffering with the safe illness. This is the year 2008. No longer will I "sit and wait." I want my life, in its entirity. I love life, and I refuse to lie down and die. It's time to get to work.
