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A Plan from the A Team
The diagnosis at the time of Jason’s biopsy in July was “suspected H3K27” glioma, also known as “Diffuse Midline Glioma.” It doesn’t take long on Google to understand how devastating that diagnosis would be. It’s a worst-case scenario in every way – prognosis of “weeks to months” regardless of treatment. But medical students are taught…
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Biochemistry Lesson
Science is awesome. It explains why the world goes ’round, how corn grows, and which DNA molecule inside of a cell mutated to turn it into a cancer cell. Human scientists are not perfect and therefore cannot perfectly understand it all, but the currently understood science of the macroscopic universe to the microscopic cell is…
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Another
The next tumor board is tomorrow. It happens every Wednesday. This will be the fourth weekly tumor board since Jason’s biopsy. And, assuming the pathology results still aren’t final today, it will be the fourth that his case won’t make the agenda. We face yet another week of waiting. What an odd sense of relief…
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the Waiting
Post-op day #14. 14 days since Jason’s brain biopsy. 14 days waiting. 14 days medicating. 14 days healing. 14 days dreading. 14 days praying. 14 days doubting. 14 days forgetting, or at least 14 days pretending. 14 days remembering. 14 days worrying. 14 days enjoying. 14 days hoping. Tomorrow will be 15. Or maybe not?…
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July 31st
Twenty-one years ago, best friends were married. July 31, 2004, was a beautiful, sunny (i.e. HOT) day. That square on the calendar marked the beginning of a new life. No longer just Jason & Susan – we became “the Newmans” that day. A unit. A family. One. We have grown since that day—in figurative and…
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Instead
The end of July has always been a special time for us. There’s a lull in kids’ activities, our anniversary, and time to let the RV stretch its wheels. We travel the country like an old retired couple (plus four school-aged children). Today, we should be pulling into Grand Teton National Park and then onto…
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Gray
Jason’s cancer is gray. Literally. The first biopsy of his brain was white—the color of a normal cerebellum. Bright, normal, white neurons. So deeper they went. The second core was gray. The surgeon knew he was in tumor. Gray. What an ugly color. It’s the color of brain tumors. It’s the color of brain cancer…
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Two Faces
“I have MRI results,” said the familiar radiologist voice on the other end of the phone. “Good. I actually have you on speaker phone with Dr. Newman, too. It’s her husband,” replied our Primary Care Provider as we sat in our shared office that Thursday morning. “Umm…” came the voice on the other end of…
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Miracles
We believe in God, and respect that some of you reading this don’t. We believe in miracles, and know that some of you reading this don’t. As much as I would love to say that we’re expecting the miracle that Jason’s tumor will inexplicably be gone when they go to do the biopsy on Tuesday,…
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Cancer
It’s THE word everyone hates hearing. But, it’s the word everyone hates saying even more. I hate telling patients they have cancer. It has never rolled off my tongue well. But, I hate saying the words I’ve said this week, and the same words that I’m about to write, more than I have ever HATED…
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Doctor Newman 