Three months ago, Stephanie’s doctors told her she was going to die in 2018.
After experiencing months of painful headaches, the 27-year-old mother-of-one was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of brain cancer.
The tumor was based near the top of her brain stem, and multiple surgeons in her home state of Florida told her that surgery was too risky to perform.
But one doctor in Oklahoma heard the news of Stephanie’s story and got in touch – insisting he would be able to operate on her.
Today, Stephanie is cancer-free and says she is sharing her story to encourage patients in a similar situation to never give up.
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Saved: Stephanie, 27, from Florida, was diagnosed with Glioblastoma – an aggressive brain cancer – in January 2017 and was told she had just 15 months to live
Inoperable: The tumor was sitting in the pineal region of her brain, at the top of her brain stem. Because this is such a sensitive area, doctors told Stephanie the tumor was inoperable
In November 2016, Stephanie started having regular headaches. By January, they were excruciating.
‘It got to a point where I would curl up in a ball in bed for hours in tears because of how intense the pain was,’ Stephanie wrote on her blog.
‘And by this point they were daily.’
She went to visit the doctor, who diagnosed her with Glioblastoma multiforme, an aggressive brain tumor in the pineal region – and told her she had 15 months to live.
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The cancer arises from star-shaped cells in the brain called astrocytes. In adults, this usually starts in the cerebrum, the largest part of the brain.
The tumors are grade IV, the most deadly form, and the five-year survival rate is only five percent.
‘They told us because of the area of the brain it was in that it was inoperable and that no one should touch it,’ Stephanie said at press conference.
Praying: Stephanie started a blog to document her journey when Dr Michael Sughrue, a neurosurgeon in Oklahoma City, came across it and asked if he could see her brain scans
Dr Sughrue (right) specializes in the removal of gliomas in critical areas of the brain and told Stephanie (left) that he could help her. She flew to Oklahoma on a Wednesday and had surgery scheduled for Friday
WHAT IS GLIOBLASTOMA?
Glioblastomas are tumors that arise from astrocytes, the star-shaped cells that make up the supportive tissue of the brain.
These tumors are usually highly malignant. They’re grade IV tumors, which means they can grow fast and spread quickly.
Almost one in five tumors that start in the brain are glioblastomas.
Approximately 14,000 new cases are diagnosed every year.
Signs and symptoms:
- Persistent headaches
- Seizures
- Vomiting
- Changes in mood or personality
- Trouble with concentrating
- Trouble with speaking
- Double or blurred vision
Treatment options to slow and control tumor growth:
1) Surgery
The goal is to remove as much of the tumor as possible. In high-risk areas of the brain, the surgeon may not be able to remove all of a tumor.
2) Radiation
Radiation is used to kill as many leftover tumor cells as possible after surgery and slow growth of inoperable tumors.
3) Chemotherapy
Temozolomide is the most common chemotherapy drug used for glioblastoma, although it can cause short-term side effects.
Survival rates:
One-year rate: 37.2 percent
Five-year rate: 5.1 percent
Ten-year rate: 2.6 percent
In February, Stephanie started a blog to document her journey and her first post got 18,000 views.
Within 24 hours, it made its way to neurosurgeon Dr Michael Sughrue in Oklahoma City – who specializes in the removal of gliomas in critical areas of the brain.
He emailed Stephanie and asked to see her brain scans.
‘If someone has an inoperable brain tumor, show me the films first. We’ll see if it’s really inoperable,’ Dr Sughrue at a press conference.
‘I expected something far worse given the description. When I saw this I was like, “Yeah, this is pretty doable”.’
Stephanie’s prayers were answered when Dr Sughrue said he was willing to help her.
Within days, she was in Oklahoma and at the Stephenson Cancer Center prepping for surgery.
The tumor was on such a delicate area of her brain stem that, with one mistake, she would never wake up. And Stephanie admits she was nervous.
‘I was scared to go through the surgery,’ she said.
‘But I was more scared not to have it.’
Stephanie and her husband Michael met with the neurosurgeon on Thursday and the surgery was scheduled for the next day.
Because of the high-risk nature, Dr Sughrue said it’s common practice for surgeons to play it safe.
‘Even if something is difficult and hard, what I find is patients all have the same goals, which is to be there with their family and live life,’ he said.
‘We spent many years taking many of these inoperable tumors.’
In a six-hour procedure that started at 10am, Dr Sughrue and his team were able to remove about 90 percent of the tumor.
Success: In a six-hour procedure, Dr Sughrue and his team removed about 90 percent of the tumor from Stephanie’s brain
Cured: Since the surgery, Stephanie has undergone 29 days of radiation and 40 days of chemotherapy and will be allowed to go back home to Florida tomorrow
‘I feel like I have so much hope now,’ Stephanie said.
‘I have a bigger chance of beating this.’
Since the surgery, Stephanie has undergone 29 days of radiation and 40 days of chemotherapy
Today, she finishes radiation treatment and tomorrow, she’ll be able to return home to Florida.
‘Until proven otherwise, it’s cured,’ said Dr Sughrue.