Brain Tumors Patients get home as new treatment surfaced

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Republican Senator John McCain is perhaps the best known person who has brain cancer. His is a glioblastoma, the most deadly type. Since McCain announced the news last year, he has had surgery and chemotherapy. There’s no cure for this type of cancer, and even with treatment, most people don’t live longer than three years after being diagnosed.

Surgeons often can’t remove the entire tumor because it might affect brain functions, or it might be attached to the spinal column. These tumors often grow tentacles that make them impossible to cut out completely.

Untreated, people have just months to live. But even with treatment, the two-year survival rate is just 30 percent, according to the American Brain Tumor Association.

What’s hopeful is that some new treatments are showing promise.

A case in point is Lori Mines. This 40-year-old wife and mother was diagnosed with stage four brain cancer two years ago. She had a severe headache followed by a stroke. When doctors ordered a brain scan, they found two large brain tumors, one on either side of her brain. One of the tumors was attached to the spinal column so it couldn’t be completely removed. After surgery, Mines had radiation.

“I didn’t even want to know anything about it. I just basically wanted to focus on trying to get better,” she said.

Even noncancerous brain tumors can be deadly if they interfere with portions of the brain responsible for vital bodily functions. Treatment often includes surgery, chemotherapy or radiation or a combination of these treatments.