“As a beneficiary of the support available at The Wellness Community – West Los Angeles, it is now my privilege to offer hope and support to others.”

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In early 1993 I began experiencing muscle spasms called focal seizures in my right arm.  An MRI of my brain revealed a lesion in my left frontal lobe.  For several months the lesion was misdiagnosed until the possibilities began to point to a primary brain tumor.  I sought additional medical opinions and eventually chose an aggressive strategy involving surgically removing the tumor.  I underwent a craniotomy.  Computer-assisted surgical techniques enabled the surgeon to cut through my brain and resect the tumor that had infiltrated my motor cortex.  After surgery a follow-up MRI showed no visible tumor remaining.  The final pathology of the tumor was an anaplastic astrocytoma grade 3.  This type of tumor is an aggressive malignancy that regrows after surgery and expands further into the brain.  I was to immediately begin cancer treatment, starting with chemotherapy to be followed by radiation. The benefit of the treatment plan, as one of the doctors put it, was to slow down the cancer and "keep me good for a couple of years."

I began the chemotherapy, a three-drug protocol called PCV, but was only halfway into the second cycle when I became extremely ill.  I was allergic to the drugs and was in bed for almost a week with a high fever and a head-to-toe "sunburn."  Reluctantly, the chemo was stopped.  I was switched to a single, less potent drug, of which I had further cycles without incident.  Next was radiation, which consisted of 33 fractionated sessions, a protocol commonly used for brain tumors.  Radiation went on for seven weeks, although I suffered fatigue and hair loss for several subsequent months

Immediately after my diagnosis, family members steered me to The Wellness Community-West Los Angeles, which offered a monthly Brain Tumor Networking Group.  It was at my initial meeting that I first met other brain tumor patients.  They not only existed, but had similar diagnoses, spoke the same language, and many used the same medicines.  They shared their life experiences that the brain tumor had caused for them, and that I could easily relate to.  I knew this was a place that would help me on the brain tumor journey, and it became a regular monthly event.  Each meeting would offer new issues, experiences and challenges to share.  Sessions were usually upbeat, but there were difficult times as well.  However, the atmosphere always remained hopeful.  I don’t think there was ever a session in which there wasn’t laughter.

As time progressed my life plans began returning to normalcy.  I married my fiancée in the two week break between chemo and radiation, and the following year we bought a home.  I continued my regular cancer checkups, which showed no signs of the expected tumor recurrence.  Finally, three years to the week after my diagnosis, I had to return to the same hospital; not for tumor treatment but for the birth of my first child, a son.  A little more than two years later a daughter followed.  I have reached my goal of becoming a long-term survivor, having far surpassed the initial prognosis of "a couple of good years."  My regular checkups have shown no sign of any tumor recurrence, and I live a daily life without any medical or cognitive restrictions.  I am still involved with the Brain Tumor Networking Group.  As a beneficiary of the support available at TWC-WLA, it is now my privilege to offer hope and support to others.