Your Path to Hope Resources

A brain tumor patient will encounter numerous specialists and need to make a multitude of decisions throughout their journey. With these factors and more, navigating cancer care can be overwhelming.  For patients with glioblastoma (GBM), management is even more challenging due to their poor prognosis, feelings of isolation, need for treatment, and cognitive decline associated with this rare and progressive disorder. For these reasons, shared decision-making (SDM) must be integrated into standard practice so that patients’ expectations and goals are considered when discussing and weighing the risks and benefits of treatments.

In the 7 years since I’ve been diagnosed with a large and rare brain tumor called a ganglioglioma, I have become much more comfortable sharing my story with others. I was 19 years old and a sophomore in college when I was diagnosed after my right side went numb and I went to the ER. It was a shock and an even bigger shock when the doctors told me it had been most likely growing slowly for more than 10 years. After I had an awake craniotomy …

President Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, and the entire Biden-Harris Administration are reviving Cancer Moonshot. While serving as Vice President, Joe Biden initially launched Cancer Moonshot. With this renewed energy, the administration has set incredible goals “to reduce the death rate from cancer by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years, and improve the experience of people and their families living with and surviving cancer— and, by doing this and more, end cancer as we know it today.”

Tomorrow will mark another year remembering Steve Damm through Acts of Kindness. On what would have been Steve’s 43rd birthday, the Damm family created “43 Acts of Kindness”. They were concerned they may not be able to complete the task, but through the power of social media, they had more than 400 acts of kindness that year. Each year this tradition continues in Frisco, Texas, and across the country and globe. Whether you purchase a stranger coffee or lunch, make a generous donation, or deliver a friendly card, the point is to simply be kind to others.

As I write this, it marks the week, three years ago, that so drastically changed my life. I was 32 years old when I was told that the headaches I had been suffering from for several months were actually being caused by a lesion on my brain and that I would need brain surgery right away to remove the tumor sitting above my right frontal lobe.

After a diagnosis of brain cancer, it is likely that surgery or some other treatment will be recommended to remove or shrink the tumor. These treatments can sometimes alter a patient’s mental status and/or ability to communicate. This possibility makes it all the more important for families to consider executing various legal documents to ensure that a patient’s wishes are honored. While it may seem morbid to discuss what treatments or measures should be taken to keep someone alive or comfortable, these documents can help provide guidance and reassurance for …

The Ivy Brain Tumor Center at Barrow Neurological Institute and SonALAsense announced positive results in their first-in-human Phase 0/1 clinical trial of SDT in recurrent glioblastoma patients. The initial results were presented at the European Society for Medical Oncology Congress today by Nader Sanai, MD, Director of the Ivy Brain Tumor Center. “The Ivy Center’s Phase 0/1 study has shown a promising translation of the preclinical results of SDT in patients with glioblastoma.

Since I started my training, there was the establishment of what’s currently the standard of care. Which is the concurrent use of radiation and temozolomide and adjuvant temozolomide. That, unfortunately, has not changed though, in the last 15 years. So although I got to see the transformation of the field and maybe for the first time, a large number of patients who have five years and beyond survival, we still have not been able to really make that a reality for a majority of patients. So we’ve unfortunately had some limitations in the advancements since that time.

Brains for the Cure (BFTC) is an online navigator designed to lend a helping hand throughout one’s brain tumor journey as they advocate for themselves, become educated on the latest research and treatments, and connect with others through Ambassadors, online support groups, and stories.

Today, July 21st, marks the 3rd Annual Glioblastoma (GBM) Awareness Day. Brains for the Cure invites you to join us, Head for the Cure, and the entire brain tumor community on honoring this important day! …