Mom & dad would like to share part of mom's medical history, it is long, but trust me, this is the short version.In the Spring of 1993 Mom started having what the family doctor thought were panic attacks. These attacks came more often, but then so were the stresses of life.
In late Oct. of 1993 she had a grand maul seizure while at home, in the evening. While in ER a scan was performed, they found that she had a tumor in the front-temporal lobe, about the size of a large orange. Due to the location, dealing with speech, we decided to get a 2nd opinion concerning the risk of surgery. The second opinion concurred with the first. Surgery was at Sparrow Hospital on Dec. 8, 1993. The biopsy showed the tumor to be Oligodendrogliomas.
At the time of surgery, it did not show significant anaplastic features, and from the biopsy it was a grade B. The results of surgery were remarkable. Mom was sent home with no impairments, except for small seizures. The different seizure medications caused her to go to the University of Michigan, where treatments have continued under the care of the "Neuro Oncology" dept. In the summer of 2000 the tumor showed new growth. Mom was given chemo by an oral treatment, Temador. After 18 cycles she completed the chemo in December of 2002, reducing the size by half.
In March of 2004 the tumor showed growth once again. Before any treatments from U of M, my parents decided to have The Cleveland Clinic Brain Tumor Institute provide a second opinion. Again Cleveland was in agreement with the U of M diagnose. So we reviewed different plans of treatment. Back at U of M, she was given another oral chemo, and chose not to do radiation (in Spring 2005 Jeremy was marrying Becky, and I was marring Amy). The chemo did not work as well as before, and it lowered her white blood count.
In March of 2005 radiation was administered, every 5 days for 8 weeks. Some progress was made reducing the size. In the fall of 2006 new growth started yet again. By late April of 2007 the U of M Neuro staff met to decide what should be done next.
Surgery was very risky due to the new size and location of the tumor. Mom and dad agreed to go ahead with surgery, and a specialized Neurosurgeon who works directly with the speech area performed the surgery. She was supposed to be awake during the surgery, aiding in the process and preventing to much damage to her speech. However, but by this time her speech was to restricted, so surgery was performed with her under anesthesia. At this time, her whole right side motor skills were gone and short term memory. Once again the results were remarkable, and after a few weeks her speech and motor skills were coming back to normal. Also her short term memory was once again, normal.
This time the biopsy showed the tumor changed from an Oligodendrogliomas to a Glioblastoma grade 4.
In August of 2007, a M.R.I showed new growth, again. This time Avastin and CPT-11 were given by infusion every 2 weeks. The tumor continued to grow. This chemo treatment was no longer working, so the options given were to use Cytoxan or to reuse of Temador in a different manner. The Temador had worked great before and seemed to be the better of the two for her body. She would be on Temador for 21 straight days then off for 5. After 2 cycles, the tumor continued its growth, and by late October speech and word finding became difficult.
In November, the tumor started affecting her right hand motor skills along with her speech.
Her last MRI on December 26th, 2007, shows the growth has become quite rapid. Her doctors have given her 2 options: 1) turn her care over to Hospice or 2) use Cytoxan.
Mom & Dad have chosen the Cytoxan treatment, her first cycle will be January 3rd & 4th. Cytoxan or Cyclophosphamide carries many risks which you can read about here.
Thank you mom & dad for providing this for the blog. They hope that her story will reach others, and provide encouragement for those going through similar struggles.
Thank you Trinity Church for supporting my mother during this long battle, the friends she has made have truly been a blessing and support for her. Your prayers have provided answers thanks to a wonderful God who loves us. We are thankful, and will continue to give thanks.
