I Had To Learn--And Fast!

Written by Lynn, whose son Mike had a glioblastoma

When our 17 year-old son was first diagnosed with a brain tumor we were extremely naive about his situation and about cancer in general. I remember asking if "surgery was really necessary."

We were fortunate to have been referred to really great doctors and an excellent surgeon because in the beginning, we had to put our trust completely in them. We didn't have any background knowledge to draw from.

Immediately following surgery, we began spending hours and hours doing research on the Internet, trying to become as knowledgeable as possible about what we were facing. It was reassuring to us to find the same suggestions and recommendations from more than one medical source.

Eventually, we joined an e-mail list of people diagnosed with brain tumors and we became exposed to the many and varied treatments that were being tried - we learned which ones seemed to be of no help and which ones were actually helping some people.

We were then able to take this information to our doctors and discuss it with them when making treatment decisions. Knowledge regarding the successful treatment of malignant brain tumors is very, very limited so we needed to research and investigate everything.

A Note from TLC:

Remember - you are your teen's best advocate. Get as much information as possible about your teen's cancer and treatment. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Expect good answers. Don't stop asking until you are satisfied. You all deserve it!