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Surviving a brain tumor
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Jerry D. Kline - A Survivor's Story
I am a four year gbm brain tumor survivor. My story is available at http://www.jerrykline.net/. A summary is as follows: My story begins in January 2004, when I began to experience a series of severe headaches. They would come out of nowhere and subside just as quickly as they came - lasting only two or three minutes. My wife and I initially thought they were sinus related or tension based, but as the headaches persisted and as I moved up the food chain of specialists, I eventually found myself carrying MRI film to a neurologist's appointment. It was on 30 January 2004 that I heard the dreadful words "I'm sorry Mr. Kline, but you have a brain tumor." Hearing those words was like hitting a brick wall at 90 mph - your whole world comes crashing down in an instant while you stand by helpless. I immediately went to see neurosurgeon Dr. Sam Finn, and heard my first bit of good news within a couple of hours of the bad news. "Yes, you have a brain tumor," Dr. Finn said, "but it is eminently operable." He started me on 32 mg/day of the steroid Decadon to reduce the swelling being caused by the tumor in preparation for surgery. The Decadon also dismissed the headaches and it felt great to feel great. The tumor was removed during a three hour procedure on 04 February 04. The medical staff at Baylor in Dallas was nothing short of brilliant. They inserted several "ports" into my body and while we conversed, they began to take me under. The next thing I remember was the chief anesthesiologist saying "Jerry, we're done." All I could say to him was "fantastic, fantastic." Two days later, I had an MRI and was pronounced clean by the radiologist and the medical staff. That same day, I went home with strict orders to rest for one week. After a follow up meeting with Dr. Finn, I returned to work on a full time basis, nine days after the surgery. Having learned that my tumor was a grade 4 glioblastoma multiforma (gbm), I began to research brain cancer treatments and to try to figure out how to approach this whole situation. Having the tumor removed was a "no brainer", given its location slightly above my right ear, but what should I do after surgery? With the help of my wife Kathy, my mother and my brother David, we developed a plan. Our approach was "total war" with no holds barred, no mercy shown, no prisoners taken. We decided to be as aggressive with this traitor as my body would allow. The first post operative treatment consisted of six weeks of conformal radiation therapy with concurrent Temodar chemotherapy and Celebrex. My blood was checked every week during this time. A significant percentage of my hair fell out, but I didn't mind too much because I had good energy levels. After this, Kathy and I visited MD Anderson, Duke, and UT Southwestern to identify follow on treatment options for the long haul. We also consulted with gbm survivors, like Donna Ferrer and Dr. Ben Williams. I read articles and books. I spent hours on the internet. I asked God for wisdom and direction. I eventually ended up at the office of Dr. Virginia Stark-Vance, a truly remarkable oncologist with offices in Ft. Worth and Dallas who takes an optimistic view of things, even a gbm diagnosis. The plan we elected was to take 14 days of Temodar (a pill), then stop the Temodar for 14 days. I also took Accutane with the Temodar. We then checked my blood to see how my system is holding up, and then the cycle is repeated. Every two months, a MRI was performed and, by the grace of God, I had 21 consecutively clean scans over a 40 month period. One scan was a PET, the others standard MRIs. A spot was identified in the MRI from 01 June 07 and was thought to be a tumor recurrence. We began hitting this small (less than 1/4" x 1/4" x 1/7") suspect area with chemo on Monday, 04 June 07, followed by monthly MRIs, and as of the scan of 08 Sept 07, the beast has vanished! Two more rounds of Carbo and Avastin were therefore administered over the next two months, and the monthly scans remained clean into November 2007, which means that I have now returned to bi-monthly MRIs and have halted the chemo and Avastin! Through all of this, I have enjoyed the unfaltering support of my family, our church, (several churchs in fact), friends, neighbors, co-workers and other survivors, and many friends in Israel. More than this, I have seen the Lord work in my life as never before; mostly helping me overcome my fears.
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