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GENE


I am male and currently on disability retirement from my job as a Nuclear Engineer at a nuclear power plant. I had a brain tumor that I had to deal with when I was 46. I am 54 now and I had surgery for a olioglendroglomia (sp) brain tumor in Feb 1992. Things went along relatively well with infrequent partial seizures until in late 1997 when I developed a speech aphasia that made me almost unable to communicate. During 1998 I took chemo treatments from Dr Lee in Olathe, KS and had 5 rounds of PVC treatment between Jan and Nov. At about April the aphasia had cleared up so that I could nowcommunicate. During that time, I knew want I wanted to say but couldn't express it. My wife and I went to Bowman Gray Baptist Hospital for 6 weeks radiation treatment with Dr Ed Shaw in Jan and Feb of 1999. The treatments went well. Subsequent MRIs of by head for the brain tumor say it is shrinking. In July I developed symptoms that said I now had a second primary cancer-pancreatic cancer!!!! I had the Whipple surgery. The cancer had spread to 5 of my lymph nodes. I was in intensive care for 14 days and in Olathe Medical Center for 30 days with 5 days after that in a rehab hospital. During Sept I had 3 rounds of Gemsar chemo. During Oct, Nov and early Dec I had joint chemo/rad for 6 weeks. I received a 5FU chemo drug from Dr Lee along with radiation in Dr Steve Smalley’s office. I had the next month of treatments off so my wife and I went on a vacation to AZ with my daughter who lives in Tucson. My son and his wife and 2grandchildren came later. We had a great time visiting Sabino Canyon, Saguaro National Park and Museum and a trip down to Nogales, Mexico. I had bloodwork done when I came back to KS on Jan 6 and it showed I still had a low WBC and I am currently awaiting more bloodwork on Jan 19. Based on the blood tests then, Dr Lee and I will decide where we go from here. I will have survived 8 years in Feb since my brain tumor was found and 6 months since the pancreatic cancer was diagnosed in July 1999.

Posted 01/14/2000 06:42 pm by Gene
E-mail Address: generathbun@hotmail.com

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