The information presented below is the opinion of Matthew F. and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Musella Foundation!
Surviving a Glioblastoma (gbm) Brain Tumor Diagnosis
Introduction
ª My Perspective ª
DISCLAIMER: The information within this site is the author's perspective.
You should always consult with a health professional before adopting any form of treatment regimen.
"You have six months to live."
Those were the words that tripped from the mouth of my radiologist some fourteen years ago.
That might hold to make sense from the physician's perspective if you get caught up in the hurdle called statistics. Statisticians use this tool to eliminate variance and predict the norm.... that which is normal.
I have yet to determine what is normal about brain tumors. They are all different in shape, size, density, grade, mass, location, etc.
With statistics, I can tell you how often Mickey Mantle will drive in a runner on second base with two outs.
We use his past performance, and other variables...the bat and ball are pretty much the same, but the pitcher will differ. With brain tumors, the tumor will be unique to any tumor ever seen before...the physician much as the pitcher does, will play a significant role. But unlike the bat, the surgeon's tools are improving all the time. So what might have been a strikeout two years ago, might be a ground rule double today.
At this point I have lived 28 times longer than my doc expected (168 mos vs 6 mos)... to put that in
perspective, it would be the equivalent of living to be 868 years old!!!!! God will have the final say in how long each one of us lives… and He does not wear a white coat and a green mask.
Don't sit around and wait to die.
Make a decision... either get on with living or get on with dying.
Don't let statistics run your life. You must have some hope that things will work out:
YOU will be the exception!
You need to have confidence that your physician is not God, and cannot put you in a grave while
you are still breathing...
You must embrace the hope that you are in control of your life and can demand treatment for your
body regardless of how a physician or an insurance company rules.
Each moment of our life is precious. Learn to love the time.
Face each new hurdle face-on with grit & determination to survive and keep on keeping on!!
There are no guarantees in life. You have to step up to the plate to win. Sure you might ground into
a double play, but if you don't step up to the plate, you'll never hit a home run. In my book, if you
choose not to play, you have already lost. Life has no room for benchwarmers!
I suppose if I had just accepted my six-month prognosis as the gospel and just rolled over, I might
not be here today. But how we live our life is just as important as being alive.
So get on with living.
|
