Last updated: 2/24/2012
In June 2000 I was 33 years old, working in Oregon as a wildlife biologist with Threatened & Endangered Species, and my life quickly changed. I began having headaches that felt like my skull was going to explode. An MRI showed my brain was hemorrhaging and I went into surgery at OHSU in Portland Oregon. An acorn sized Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) tumor was found in my left temporal lobe. I was told I had less than a year to live.
My husband Matt and I had two little boys, Grant and Clint, only 3 and 1 years old at that time. I quit my job as a wildlife biologist and became a stay at home mom, wanting to spend every precious moment with my boys. I went into conformal brain radiation. I did not take chemotherapy at that time, the standard treatment was BCNU and had seriously bad side effects and I was told it would only add 3 months to my life.
I decided to focus on my family and doing everything I could to boost my immune system. I started eating organic, exercising 5 days a week, simplifying my life to reduce stress, leaning on God for strength and started taking many herbal supplements.
In July 2004 the GBM came back. I went into brain surgery #2 with Dr. Berger at UCSF. I had “awake” surgery since the GBM was located in my left temporal lobe there was a high risk of loosing my ability to speak. After surgery I went on Temodar, the 5/23 schedule 330mg. I was on the Temodar for 1.5 years.
In March 2004 the GBM came back again. I went into brain surgery #3 with Dr. Berger at UCSF. Again I went into “awake” surgery, because Dr. Berger wanted to be as aggressive as possible in surgery, not only taking the tumor out, but buffering around the tumor if possible. The tumor was only the size of a “pea”, but during surgery Dr. Berger was able to remove a buffer around the tumor the size of a “golf ball”, hoping to remove any hidden cancer cells. After surgery I went back on Temodar 5/23 schedule 330mg.
In March 2009 the GBM came back again while I was still on Temodar. This time the tumor was not even located in my brain, but in the Meninge (the layer of tissue that covers the brain). I went into surgery #4 with Dr. Berger at UCSF. He was able to remove all seen tumor. The brain itself looked nice and clear, no seen tumor in the brain itself! Good news. After surgery, I did not go back on Temodar since it quit working for me. I did not qualify for any clinical trials, because of the 3rd reoccurrence, and treatment history. The only thing available to me was the “old” chemos that are not hopeful, or Avastin, which I did not hear good things about. So Dr. Butowski at UCSF suggested I just “keep an eye” on it with MRIs every 2 months.
It is now February 2011 and I am still alive and loving life! My MRIs over the last few years have looked nice and clear. I am still on no treatments, but continue doing all I can to boost my own immune system. I’m still taking many supplements (working with Jeanne Wallace), exercising, eating organic, eating good healthy foods, and giving it all over to my Lord.
It’s now been 10 years! The best years of my life! I have been blessed to see my boys grow, they are now 11 and 14 years old. Now my “job” in life, is being the best mom I can be, and reaching out to others who are battling the brain tumors. My heart goes out to all of you out there.
In 2004 I celebrated my survivorship climbing to the peak of Mount Shasta in California. After the climb I realized the similarity between climbing the trails up a mountain and struggling through trials of life (for me battling brain cancer). I wrote a book, bringing others through the climb with me, in hopes to encourage others battling the brain tumor. It is called Life’s Mountains and can be seen at http://www.cherylbroyles-gbm.com/node/97
In 2008 after my 3rd surgery I decided to put together a web page. Over the years many people contact me in hopes to find out “what I do” to survivor. To give others hope and to try to provide some helpful information for them I put together the web page at http://www.cherylbroyles-gbm.com/node/97/
Over the last 10 years connecting with others battling the brain tumors has inspired me so much. Al Mussela and the VirtualTrials web page has been so helpful. Reading the survivor stories is encouraging. I hope my story cheers you on too! Please don’t feel it is over. Don’t listen to the statistics. We can still love life and have fun, even when we are “brain tumor patients.”
Update 2/24/2012
It's now Feb 2012 and I've survived the GBM 11 years and 8 months, yes I count down to days and hours too! I'm still alive and loving life. Currently on no "western medical treatments", but still taking many supplements, exercising, eating organic, acupuncture, and leaning on God for strength. My last MRI in Jan. 2012 showed there was no seen tumor; great news. However, radiation and treatment damage is beginning to show up more. The MRI report says there are scattered foci of microhemorrhages in my left hemisphere due to post treatment changes and / or radiation induced cavernous malformation. I am starting to notice more problems with loss of words, memory, reading, thinking clear, etc. But still out there having fun in life with my family camping, skiing, biking, hiking, backpacking, rafting, canoeing, too many to list. I never let the GBM beat me while I am still alive. I'm still going to enjoy each day I've got. So if you have just been diagnosed, don't give up hope!!
