Happy with Cancer

I have gliomatosis cerebri, a rare brain cancer. Only 100 people are diagnosed annually in the US. When diagnosed in 2013, there was a 0.00000031% chance of getting it. I was given one year to live “if lucky.” Yet, I’m still here, way passed my expiration date (I’m getting kinda funky smelling). God has blessed me.

The physicality of a GC tumor is like a mist with fingers that reach out into the brain. The cancer is infiltrating three lobes, inoperable and terminal.

It is such a rare brain cancer that there’s little precedence for treatment. My Tumor Team, with God’s help, created a plan that has extended my life. Two months of daily steroids (gained 40 lbs. in five weeks!) and daily radiation, and 2.5 years of daily chemo. MRI scans every other month monitor its behavior. As of August 2015, a year had passed with no change in the cancer. Chemo had done all it can. I’ve been off since. Scans will continue for perpetuity.

Happiness is a choice, not a circumstance. I choose happiness.

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Opinions expressed within this story belong solely to the author and do not reflect the views or opinions of the National Brain Tumor Society.