Friend has Brain Cancer Glioblastoma: What are the next steps?

Hi Nancy, Just wondering how Bill is doing on Avastin. I'm so sorry that Bill is going through this awful cancer and am also sorry to hear about a new Glio that is progressing.

Is your friend on Radiation? That may slow it down. Praying for you and your friend.

Praying for you and your friend. My mother endured this terrible disease for 15 full months. I now say she beat it, even though she has passed, she beat the damn disease.

Plus, the ER doctor might be mistaken…. It happens in the rush and crush of an ER. It could be something else. They could have older equipment. He’s probably not trained in every single thing that could show up on an MRI. He probably does not do surgery. Without a pathology report, you need a 2nd opinion pronto.There needs to be someone who specifically knows - like a radiation oncologist - how to read a state-of-the-art MRI, like a cancer center or Mayo Clinic would. Without treatment she may live 5,6, 7 months. With appropriate treatment, 15 -18 months, some people live 2 years.
There is hope. There is help,

May her memory be a blessing. I’m sure you and the docs did everything they could 🤗

My wife was diagnosed with glioblastoma, stage four, in 2013. We didn’t see it as a death sentence. We saw it as an opportunity to travel. We have been as far south as Costa Rica and as far north as Iceland. We spent a week in Florida every winter, house boats on the Thousand Islands, Nashville, New Orleans and countless places in between. Recently she has had gradual impairment from the treatment so we don’t travel anymore. April 1 it will be 12 years since her surgery. So please, don’t make it a death sentence. Enjoy life one day at a time.

Hello Walt, I've been recently diagnosed with glioblastoma, have gone through surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. I am now in my send phase of treatment basically taking a high dose of chemo. I will soon start the 3rd phase of 6 phase 5-day per month treatment.
That is great to hear your wife is completing 12 years since the operation.

Thank you for sharing your story and giving us hope for our future.

God bless you both

Hi. My son just diagnosed as well. Stage 4. Started radiation and chemo pill. What treatments did your wife undergo to life do much longer? Thx

Wow, my husband was dx'd in Jan 2024 with stage 4, no biopsy could be done because it is so deep, they recommended radiation/chemo, which he did until this past Jan, when it was proposed to stop the treatments as toxcity may be creating his functional decline. He looks good on paper, but in person, always very fatigued, now in w/c, cognitively declining, but has moments of clarity/alertness. At the end of Jan, the md recommended hospice and here we are 2 months later, the md felt that it might be a matter of weeks, and thus not so far. Very frustrating, am considering taking a break from hospice in order to get a repeat MRI, just to see has it expanded at all. He is very very resistant to doing anything he is afraid he will die and I will be left with trying to manage that if we go away. I really would have liked to go to Fla at least , but that would require a handicapped accessible room/shower also being dog friendly. And truthfully, his anxiety level would be so high, it would not be worth it, I might get him to consider a weekend trip to see our daughter who is 6 hours away and does visit, but it might be a nice change of pace. At least if we had some evidence it was expanding or not, then he might be convinced, I just don't know. I think his major difference is that they couldnot even do a biopsy, because they felt it would leave him more impaired than he was which at the beginning he had no issues. his sx's were elusive and infrequent for almost 2 years when he finally relented to have it checked out. I hate that we are just 'waiting for him to die' now. today he at least agreed to go out with our aide, to buy a grill and eat out.but I am happy we did it but i know it was tiring for him.

My husband died 107 days after being diagnosed. His quality of life went downhill quickly after the diagnosis. He had two tumors and they didn’t remove either. Then the radiation sent him down quickly after the first week. He was bedridden the last six weeks but still mostly cognitive and was that way pretty much until he died. I am happy to read your husband is still able to function pretty well. My two cents worth is just to enjoy him as much as you can. Treasure every moment. Talk about the good times you have had with him. Maybe see if some friends can stop by and visit with him. My husband’s family and friends weren’t very responsive when he was going down hill. I guess they didn’t want to see him like that or just didn’t want to be bothered. It would have been nice if more had stopped by to visit him. I don’t mean to bring you down but I am sure you know the reality of the situation. Enjoy him as much as you can. I wish the best.