CNN iReport

My husband, Bruce, was diagnosed with a microglioma in 1977.  He was 25 years old.  It was on the left side of his head in the area that controls speach.  I think they now call this Central Nervous System (CNS) lymphoma.  He began stuttering one day.  He couldn't read and form the words he was seeing.  I presumed he might have had a stroke.  He fell off the table when he suffered his first seizure during the CAT scan.  They operated and removed the tumor.  The first diagnosis was benign, but his neurosurgeon said it looked strange to him and sent samples out for further testing.  Within ten days, the results came back malignant.  He received the maximum amount of radiation treatment they gave back then.  Back in the day, they kept him inpatient for the radiation treatments.  He continued to have 8 to 10 seizures every day.  This was followed up with chemotherapy, Vynacristene (sic) and Cytoxin.  Eventually, the seizures stopped and didn't return for 18 months.  His medication was changed and that held the seizures at bay for another year.  The general consensus was that the malignancy might have returned.  There were some doctors who recommended exploratory surgery - let's just go digging around in your brain and see what we can find.  Thankfully, his oncologist prevailed and refused to let the surgeons explore.  He was given another round of chemotherapy.  This time it was specifically for CNS malignancies.  Nasty stuff, but after three rounds, they were finished.  He never suffered another seizure or recurrence of the malignancy.

The prognosis when he was diagnosed was dire.  His doctors refused to give estimates for mortality, but didn't make any false promises either. 

Unfortunately, Bruce passed away in January of this year.  During the previous 9 years, he suffered 8 strokes.  The last one was the first hemorragic stroke.  He was 19 days past his 56th birthday and 12 days past our 34th wedding anniversary.  The doctors were never able to determine what was causing the strokes.  Although I have no scientific proof, through my own research, I feel his strokes could have been the result of brain tissue necrosis.  They really zapped his head with a lot of radiation.  Things were not as exact back then as they are now.  They also know a lot more now.  Not that it would make any difference, now or then, I would love to confirm my suspicions.  If anyone knows of any research with regard to the long-term effects of radiation to the brain, I would appreciate being advised.

All of you brain tumor victors out there - keep up the fight.  Don't ever accept being written off.  My husband survived for 30 years longer than anyone expected.  Keep the faith!