Adam's Story

I'm two years out from treatment for an atypical meningioma in my right frontal lobe, and my recent scan is looking good, so I'm ready to run! This was my second brain tumor, the only one I remember, but the second nightmare my parents have had to endure. At 21 months of age, my expert walking skills declined, and I developed weight loss, listlessness, vomiting and a burning desire to sleep on pillows. My CT scan revealed a medulloblastoma, for which I underwent surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. I did amazingly well, attending school through college and swimming competitively without a hitch. Then, in the summer of 2009, while working on my master's degree in accounting, I started having right-sided headaches that I thought were migraines. On Labor Day weekend (sorry, Dr. Warnick), I had a terrible headache, became lethargic and vomited continually. A skilled and kind ER doctor, after looking at my CT, broke the news to my mom that I had a new tumor, and had me transported to University Hospital, where Dr. Ronald Warnick removed my meningioma (felt to probably have resulted from the necessary radiation I had received as a toddler). I was able to return to class several weeks after surgery and to get my accounting diploma that winter. After careful review, my doctors decided it was safe and prudent for me to once again undergo radiation therapy, under the direction of Dr. John Breneman. I've been feeling great, I exercise regularly, and I have even managed to pass my CPA exams. I can't thank the University Hospital doctors enough for their expertise and compassion in making it possible for me to be a second-time survivor