Brain Surgeon Fights For His Own Life
Massive Brain Tumor Forces Doctor To Make Decisions He Usually Reserves For His Patients
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Play CBS Video Video A Doctor's Own Cancer Battle Dr. Sam Hassenbusch once had an MRI done on himself - and found out he had a massive tumor in his brain. Katie Couric has more on his battle against brain cancer.
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Dr. Sam Hassenbusch, right, went from brain surgeon to patient when he was diagnosed with a deadly form of brain cancer. (CBS)
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"Glioblastoma. No question. Right temporal lobe. Whosever's MRI that is, is going to have a really tough time," Dr. Hassenbusch said. "That's about as ugly-looking as it gets."
But there was something very unusual about this case. That massive brain tumor the 51-year old brain surgeon was staring at was his own.
"The whole life just totally turned upside-down in the blink of an eye," he says. "I looked at that and said, 'I know the statistics. Well, it looks like I'm going to be going home to see the Lord in person a lot sooner than I guessed.'"
Most people die within a year from it.
"It's a very bad cancer," says neuro-oncologist Mark Gilbert, a friend of Hassenbusch's. "The first thing you think is, "Oh my, you know, this is going to be a very difficult road."
For Hassenbusch and his family, the road to recovery began with surgery to remove as much as the tumor as possible. The surgery would prove to be a huge challenge.
"The analogy would be like if you take a salt shaker and unscrew the top and dump it on the table, what your surgeon is doing, is getting rid of the mound of salt," says Dr. Amy Beth Heimberger, a neurosurgeon at MD Anderson Cancer Center. "They can't get rid of every grain of salt."
The operation took almost four hours. Doctors removed nearly all of the tumor. And despite some temporary double vision, by the very next day, he was tracking his own progress from the ICU. Now it was time to focus again on saving a life ... this time, his own.
"Basically, It's a death sentence; 33-to-1. Odds (are), I'm gonna die," Hassenbusch says.
With the odds so dramatically stacked against him, Hassenbusch had to make the kind of critical care decisions he usually reserves for his patients. What his doctors discovered could help you or a loved one understand the options you may have, and help you turn knowledge into power.
(Tomorrow: Find out how Hassenbusch's decisions and treatment can help you with your own options.)
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Ken Swallow Jr.
To Irisho3: I just want to ask you more about the vaccines that your family member is taking! thank you, and best to him.
Barry Turano
Sondra
Raising awareness is the first step - thank you Katie Couric and CBS News for airing this story. Keep the focus on this terrible disease with more stories and more in depth reporting.
All of us can help, even if we aren't in the public eye. I'm supporting brain tumor research as one way to help someone very important to me.
Craig is the love of my life. He has gliosarcoma, which is the rarest and most aggressive type of glioblastoma (brain cancer), affecting less than 1% of people with brain cancer each year. He was diagnosed in March 2006. There were no warning signs, and this is common with brain tumors. A person diagnosed with gliosarcoma is told they have less than a year to live. He's beating the odds and I believe his strong immune system and focus on nutrition is helping. He's working with Dr. Jeanne Wallace, a world renowned nutritionist who specializes in brain tumor patients.
Raising awareness is the first step - thank you Katie Couric and CBS News for airing this story. Keep the focus on this terrible disease with more stories and more in depth reporting.
All of us can help, even if we aren't in the public eye. I'm supporting brain tumor research as one way to help someone very important to me.
Craig is the love of my life. He has gliosarcoma, which is the rarest and most aggressive type of glioblastoma (brain cancer), affecting less than 1% of people with brain cancer each year. He was diagnosed in March 2006. There were no warning signs, and this is common with brain tumors. A person diagnosed with gliosarcoma is told they have less than a year to live. He's beating the odds and I believe his strong immune system and focus on nutrition is helping. He's working with Dr. Jeanne Wallace, a world renowned nutritionist who specializes in brain tumor patients.
God bless you !
Sondra
We have a seven month old daughter that he currently stays home with. I was a month and a half pregnant when his cancer returned after over 5 years remission.
We would love to have as much information available on glioblastomas, treatment options and centers around the world. We have been to Corvallis and Salem, Oregon and University of San Fransisco Medical Center, California.
Because he is very young and other than the cancer very healthy, he is a good canidate for newer treatments. He is so positive and remains such a rock for all of us. I don't know what I would do with-out him.
We would love a fresh perspective on whats out there.
Your story is very interesting! What do you think was meant when God said to you "This is how you live." ? How did you interpret that?
- by sro207 March 21, 2007 11:03 PM EDT
- This is only for the glory of God, and I hope that it helps someone: Last year I was diagnosed with cancer. Long story short, I had surgery on Friday, July 7, and the morning of Saturday, July 8, the God said to me "No cancer," and the lab reports confirmed. However, weeks before I had surgery, God spoke three things specifically: 1) Eat your fruits and vegetables, 2) Your blood sugar is too high, and 3), during an evening worship, He said "This is how you live."
- Reply to this comment
See all 18 CommentsI encourage anyone, with or without cancer, and no matter what kind of cancer, to heed these words. And when your health springs forth, give God all the glory and praise!
In Him,
Sondra O.