Living with brain cancer
I haven't posted any updates recently because I have been feeling pretty fatigued from the proton therapy treatments, but I wanted to check in so that everyone knew that I am doing well...and bald (a.k.a. no longer have the ridiculous monk-cut). The fatigue is a normal side-effect from the proton treatments. I've been experiencing two …
I am finally at the half-way point of my proton treatment, and besides some fatigue and hair-loss, I've been feeling pretty well. Every day I have a similar treatment routine: I take the T to Mass General (...usually while listening to a Spotify playlist made by my brother), take the elevators down to the Burr Proton …
I am currently two weeks through treatment, and besides some stomach issues and fatigue, I'm actually feeling pretty well. While I undergo proton therapy, I am living in an apartment in Cambridge in the same building where my dad is, making it really easy to get to my treatments every day. It has been nice …
Continue reading "Melting Chocolate…an emotional struggle with cancer"
Please support the National Brain Tumor Society's Boston Brain Tumor Ride by donating to Team Jeremy Yesterday, 11 years ago, I stared up at the lights of the operating room at Mass General Hospital, counting down with the anesthesiologist as I was about to undergo brain surgery that would change the course of my life. Most …
Continue reading "11 Years Later…What’s Changed…What Hasn’t? Please support Brain Tumor Research!"
Nothing like a cold blizzard to start off my first day of treatment! Today was my first day of proton therapy at Massachusetts General Hospital's Burr Proton Center, the first place in the world to perform proton therapy on patients. It started at Harvard, and was later moved to MGH...but needless to say, they are the experts! …
Since my last medical update, a lot has happened in a short amount of time. I have been writing throughout the past week about what has been going on, so instead of separating it into different blog posts, I have put it all under one post with multiple sections: Part 1: Written Wednesday, January 14th …
Continue reading "Medical Update 3: On Feeling Powerless, Moving Forward, and my Treatment Plan"
It has been quite a while since my last medical update because over the past month not a lot has moved forward, until now. In this update I will try to summarize the most recent progression in my medical situation. In addition, at the end of this post, I will provide some more detailed information for my medically …
Just after finding out about the cancer, I felt numb. I paced back and forth as my mom paid for the parking in the Dana Farber garage. When I got into the car, I broke down in tears, managing to mumble to my mom... "I'm sorry." I know I didn't need to apologize for what …
Continue reading "Opening up to Support and Vulnerability – my new year’s resolution"
One of the most difficult aspects of dealing with this experience is waiting. It has been about a month now since I found out about the tumor, and I still do not know what the next steps will be. We are still waiting on the results of my functional MRI to determine if surgery is possible, …
My doctor has a tell when she has bad news. She will start telling stories to help calm down the mood, but in reality it elongates the anxiety. A couple weeks into my first visit back from Indonesia, I had my annual MRI appointment at Dana Farber. As my doctor was talking, my heart was pounding, and I could tell my mom was uneasy. A few minutes later my doctor told us the bad news: There has been significant tumor growth in the area of my brain where I had my previous tumor removed 11 years ago.
Jeremy's Journey 