“Groups are smart.  TWC draws on the collective wisdom of participants and facilitators.”

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     © Bill Aron

Michael’s diagnosis was a Grade III mixed malignant glioma (meaning it contains both astrocytic and oligodendroglial cells) on the right frontal lobe.  Or more simply put -- a malignant brain tumor.

Michael began having seizures in December 2000.  Because he had seizures as a child, his doctors felt that the best course of action was to “wait and see.”  They could tell that he had a tumor, but they wanted to be prudent.  It soon became apparent, however, that the tumor would need to be removed.  On September 4, 2001, he had surgery.  Michael was told that he might have some “weakness” in his body, but when he awoke, his entire left side was paralyzed.  Needless to say, he was not prepared for this.  To him, weakness meant something different from paralysis!  Seven days later (on 911) while still in the hospital, he was told that he had to have radiation immediately.  Michael and his wife were granted thirty days to get other opinions.  “The brain is the self -- it’s your soul,” Michael says.  They needed time to think.

Over the next thirty days, Michael availed himself of speech, occupational, and physical therapy.  His wife, Kim, had heard about The Wellness Community-West Los Angeles, and it turned out to be a bike ride away.  Now he could add psychosocial therapy to his list!  Michael joined the Brain Tumor Support Group, which is unique from other groups at TWC-WLA in that loved ones can meet together with the persons with cancer.  Brain tumor patients need extra support since their cognitive abilities might be impaired.  They also cannot drive.  Michael was so grateful when he could eventually ride his bike. This helped him keep a measure of autonomy that many brain tumor patients feel robbed of.

At TWC-WLA, he met other brain tumor patients and gained practical information as well as hope.  He asked for a lower dose of radiation when the time came prompted by another group member’s experience.  He met Ed Nugent who had the same diagnosis.  Ed had a four and a three year old, both of whom were born during his treatment.  As Michael says, “It was so powerful to meet someone with brain cancer who had the confidence to have children!”  Michael feels that he can never pay Ed back for the hope this gave him.  He also credits the quality of the facilitators at TWC-WLA, in this case Malcolm Schultz, JD, MFT, who moderated the group with grace.  As Michael says, “Groups are smart.  TWC draws on the collective wisdom of participants and facilitators.”

Michael’s cancer experience prompted him to change his life.  He went from commercial real estate to drawing on his former background as a trained chef.  He now teaches cooking classes using an immune supporting diet.  He also teaches Chi Gong.  Michael took a break from TWC-WLA for a while so that he could, “move the brain tumor into the second paragraph of my life.”  Eventually, he returned so that he could be there for other participants and hopefully inspire them the way Ed Nugent inspired him.  As Michael’s wife said to him one day after he had expressed a coherent idea for the first time in a long while, “You’re back!”