Name: Anonymous 2009-03-26 11:19
I had been having a very difficult time sleeping, so I went to see a doctor. He thought I suffered from sleep apnea, but never set up any tests. I was sleeping through the night, but waking up tired. It progressed to the point where I started stumbling around my apartment and loosing track of time. For example, I set up a second appointment with my doctor at 2pm and I called there at 4 to reschedule, because I had missed the appointment. Turns out it was 4am, and I didn't realize it.
I developed a constant grinding sound in my head that I assumed was still due to an extreme lack of sleep. I called my girlfriend who told me to contact my parents and have them take me to the hospital in the morning. I did, and they came, and they ended up taking me to the emergency room. The way I was staggering around and talking slow (I don't even remember this, by the way), the staff thought I was drunk or high. But my parents insisted they do further tests than just bloodwork. They did a scan and found out I had a brain tumor. I was immediately taken by ambulance to another hospital for surgery.
The surgery was rough, well the recovery anyway. Some of that, I don't remember. The surgeon removed as much of the tumor as he could and didn't cause any brain damage. The tumor was 9 x 6 centemeters.
They sent what they removed to Mayo Clinic for testing. It turns out it is a glioblastoma, a fast-growing, nasty cancer. I have begun chemotherapy and radiation a week ago. The surgeon gave me 12-18 months to live, but I have found a number of survivor stories online. I am trying to get signed up for a clinical trial for somethin called CDX-110, which "trains" the immune system to fight the cancer if it contains a specific protein (half of them do). But, for now, I'm keeping a positive attitude, they say that helps.
I developed a constant grinding sound in my head that I assumed was still due to an extreme lack of sleep. I called my girlfriend who told me to contact my parents and have them take me to the hospital in the morning. I did, and they came, and they ended up taking me to the emergency room. The way I was staggering around and talking slow (I don't even remember this, by the way), the staff thought I was drunk or high. But my parents insisted they do further tests than just bloodwork. They did a scan and found out I had a brain tumor. I was immediately taken by ambulance to another hospital for surgery.
The surgery was rough, well the recovery anyway. Some of that, I don't remember. The surgeon removed as much of the tumor as he could and didn't cause any brain damage. The tumor was 9 x 6 centemeters.
They sent what they removed to Mayo Clinic for testing. It turns out it is a glioblastoma, a fast-growing, nasty cancer. I have begun chemotherapy and radiation a week ago. The surgeon gave me 12-18 months to live, but I have found a number of survivor stories online. I am trying to get signed up for a clinical trial for somethin called CDX-110, which "trains" the immune system to fight the cancer if it contains a specific protein (half of them do). But, for now, I'm keeping a positive attitude, they say that helps.