Tumor size
The docs caught the mass when it was small, 1.9 cm, the size of small Brazil nut. My symptoms are extremely subtle and mild - balance issues mostly. Most people are not so fortunate, and they present with seizures and headaches.
(just a note that the data in that article is old - but gives you a ballpark)
Location and language
The tumor is on the right side in a zone that typically affects mobility. So I may have difficulty walking in the future. The good news is that this zone is far from the speech processing centers of the brain, so I am able to talk, write, and understand speech and communication. All that love and support you are sending me… I feel it all.
My primary care doc told me about language acquisition. Your processing for your primary language is located in Broca’s area, a small spot near the ear. If you have an injury there, it may take a lot of effort to regain your ability to communicate. However, people with second languages are different. When you learn other languages, your whole brain comes together to learn, so there isn’t just a single vulnerable point of failure. Because the processing is spread over a distributed network, the second language can come to the rescue if the primary language is no longer accessible. Dans quelques mois, il se peut bien que je vous écris en français :) Mais on verra car je me sens assez bavarde déjà en anglais.
Performance status
Performance status is a fancy term for how strong and healthy a patient is.
Source: West H, Jin JO. Performance Status in Patients With Cancer. JAMA Oncol. 2015;1(7):998. doi:10.1001/jamaoncol.2015.3113
I’m doing extremely well - just minor symptoms.
Performance status matters because it impacts how well a patient can handle surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy. I’m younger than the average glioblastoma patient, and I’m healthy physically and mentally.
Social determinants of health
Another fancy word but important.
The social determinants of health (SDH) are the non-medical factors that influence health outcomes. They are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life. These forces and systems include economic policies and systems, development agendas, social norms, social policies and political systems.
Source: https://www.who.int/health-topics/social-determinants-of-health#tab=tab_1
Like all of us reading this, I have enormous social privilege: clean water, a comfortable place to live, a good job, access to healthy food, recreation, friends, family, so much. And even more important, I live in a country where my treatment will be free. None of us involved with my care will have wrenching decisions about insurance coverage, co-pays, lifetime limits. I will not be burdened by thoughts of bankrupting my family over medical debt. We are by no means perfect in Canada, but I know I am in the right spot.
Come April 30, I will pay my taxes with gratitude.
Je suis de tout coeur avec toi Sovita.
Sending you all the good vibrations 🧡
Oui, justement, ma chère, je t'écris en français, langue que tu maîtrises fort bien... Ton moral et ta force sont impressionnantes. Tu as raison d'être combattive. Et ta photo chez Arnold à Graz ne saurait mieux montrer la détermination d'une belle combattante! ;)