Sad News
Last Thursday, I got really sad news. A very nice older lady I know had undergone surgery to remove a brain tumor. It was glioblastoma multiforme, which is a really aggressive (and malignant) kind of brain tumor that won’t show symptoms until it has gotten big enough that the important parts of the brain are affected. As with most tumors, early detection equals better prognosis. What makes GBM even more horrible is that it’s symptoms can be pretty benign — headaches, nausea and vomiting, memory loss, problems with speech and reasoning, problems concentrating, and then seizures — so most people over fifty years old (who are more commonly affected, although it does occur in various age groups) will be unsuspecting until the seizures start. Prognosis improves with complete removal of the tumor, and thank God the doctors were able to do that.
Someone told me this once: "Empathy is your greatest gift. It’s a wonderful thing, to be able to feel for others and share their pain. It makes you a better dentist/friend/person." I don’t know how much good it does me and that nice older lady I know, when all I want to do right now is cry.
Leave a Reply