behindthewallofsleep2003
fuzzedoutmama's Cancer Blog
March 18, 2007
| Gliablastoma Metiforme | Views: 739 |
March 15, 2007
We just got very heartbreaking news that my dad has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. About a month ago, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor, but at the time, the doctors didn’t know if it was malignant or not. They successfully removed it last Friday, and at that point in time, there was a 40% chance it was benign; our family was very hopeful and optimistic. However, today, the biopsy came back as a stage-four malignant tumor called a Glioblastoma Metiforme (GBM), which is a Central Nervous System tumor in the brain. Only 2-3 cases out of 100,000 people are diagnosed every year, and even if it’s removed and chemotherapy treatments are completed, it grows back, because it continues to attack different organs of the body. My dad’s decided not to undergo chemotherapy because he’d rather spend the last few months of his life at home with the family instead and going back and forth between painful treatments and hospitals. I’m having a really hard time dealing with it, but my dad is at peace and has accepted it. I’d rather not talk about it while I’m out because it upsets me, so that’s why I’m writing it here to get it out of my system. Thank you to my friends for your support – I love you (:
I have been pretty distraught over all of this and realized I hadn’t eaten for two days. I’ve been researching everything about it online. After seeing this site, it gives me hope, and I am not giving up. The doctors my dad saw told him basically not to bother with chemo or radiation treatment due to the WHO Grade (4) of the tumor. However, all the survivors did undergo either and/or combined surgery, chemo, radiation, gene therapy, nutrition therapy, electromagnetic therapy, clinical trials, etc, and survived – (some of them since 1987!) after being given only a few months to live by their doctors.
Why didn’t the doctors recommend any of these altermative treatments to my dad? Because the hospital industry wouldn’t make any money. They basically just told him to go home and die. The more I think about it, the angrier I get. They drained all the hope out of my whole family because they are too greedy to suggest alternative therapies that won’t make them any money. I found a GBM survivor (who is also a doctor) online who, through nutritional and supplemental therapy, survived – what does that tell you, when a doctor uses alternative therapy for cancer and survives? It makes me trust the medical “industry” even less than I trust the government…which is not at all.
Its’ really hard to see him withering away like this – he (was) a big guy – about 6’2” Iroquois indian, gun totin meat eater (I like that band name) who used be a body builder and the “protector” of the house (he would always sit at the table cleaning his guns and knives while interrogating my dates/boyfriend in highschool – they were all terrified of him, it was hilarious. He is an extremely stubborn and proud man and is ashamed of what he’s been reduced to, which is requiring constant care of him. I never thought I’d say this, but I miss his firey crazy temper (which I also inherited). He barely can speak now and gets confused alot more, and he’s lost a lot of weight. He also has diabetes and psorosis of the liver, so combined with this cancer, he’s going down hill fast. It’s really hard to see him like this…and since I don’t want to be Debbie Downer around everyone and burden them with this, but still needing to vent, that’s why I’m here I guess.
08.16.08 - 
Sue 
Thanks for your support -
Welcome Fuzzedoutmama. I am sorry to hear about your father. This is a good place to vent and find information. I don’t know anything about the type of cancer your father has but I do know there is no one path of treatment to take. Try to find other doctors and people who know about this subject and keep asking around. When I was diagnosed with cancer I was too overwhelmed to do all the research and luckily I had a few friends who would listen to what I was complaining about and then research my options for me. It helped me so much. I sometimes think it is easier being the one with cancer vs being on the other side.
Welcome.
You have come to the right place. We are here when you need us.
Hug to you and the family.
Sherri
I have posted some information on the Main Blog. Please check it out.
Hug Sherri
Thank you so much for your kind responses – I’m still trying to figure out how to post comments to other blogs and will do so tonight (: