It has been nearly six years since I received my emergency surgery for my grade IV Glioblastoma multiforme. During all this time, Sue has been my rock, and I am blessed to have her by my side.
You can look this up on Wiki, where there is a pretty good write-up on them, and where I got some of this info. Cancer cells with stem cell-like properties have been found in glioblastomas (this may be a cause of their resistance to conventional treatments, and high reoccurrence rate). The median survival time from the time of diagnosis without any treatment is 3 months, but with treatment survival of 1–2 years is common. Increasing age (> 60 years of age) carries a worse prognostic risk.
Long-term benefits have also been associated with those patients who receive surgery, radiotherapy, and temozolomide chemotherapy (which I received). However, much remains unknown about why some patients survive longer with glioblastoma. Age of under 50 is linked to longer survival in glioblastoma multiforme, as is 98%+ resection and use of temozolomide chemotherapy and better Karnofsky performance scores.
Based on existing data, for someone in my age group, I had about a 4.0% chance of surviving to the five year mark. Why and how I'm managing to beat the odds is beyond me, but I am thankful for everyday I'm still here. There is so much left to do, and I have plenty of reasons to look to the future. My family ties are the bond that keeps me strong, and I want to be around and healthy for as long as humanly possible.
With a lot of love and luck, I will still be here to dance at my granddaughters wedding.
