Dear Friends,

My story: I am a 25 year old 2nd year medical student at Columbia University. I finished 1.5 years of medical school when my life took a different path (temporarily). On December 30th, 2008, I found out I had a brain tumor; Jan. 2nd, 2009, it was removed in a total resection; Jan. 8th, I found out it was malignant i.e. not good. Though 16 months now I've been 100%, and at this point I don't even think about it anymore; prognosis is better and better every day.

My symptoms were strange. In late October 2009, I began having simple, partial seizures that I thought was simply anxiety associated with medical school. I would have a song stuck in my head, one that I knew very well, but I couldn't pinpoint where I knew it from or what the words were, and I had an intense deja-vu feeling. Then, for the next 1-2 minutes, I would be confused with a slight loss of hearing. This happened about once a week.

Now that I think about it, there were other signs too. I had some pretty uncharacteristic anxiety and depression, probably due to swelling and infringing on other structures. My test scores dropped, as the swelling pushed on my amygdala and affected short-term memory (I still passed). My left eyelid drooped occasionally; very rarely I had trouble coming up with a word I wanted to say. I won't bore you with too many more details, but I will try to keep up a blog.

I must have gotten this stupid brain tumor for a reason...probably to raise money and become a stellar doctor. Now I know without a doubt what field I'm supposed to enter. I have a gut feeling that I have a long life ahead of me.

Since diagnosis, it's been a long, eventful, and productive year. I often say if I could look back 10 years from now in perfect health, I would look upon these 16 months as the best of my life.  I've become closer to my family, and gained many lifelong friends.  I made a difference (I hope) working in a renowned brain tumor research lab at Northwestern.  I was part of last year's Team Peej (obviously) that really helped me be who I am today (in a good way); we raised $60k for the ABTA.  I traveled, I read a lot, I learned the guitar. I became friends with Sanjay Gupta and Bonnie Hunt. I lived more than I ever have.  Probably because I've learned to live each day like it's my last.  

link to the Bonnie Hunt Show appearance:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcvhdH-kLHk

Waxing philosophical, this kind of makes me think of the quote from Shawshank Redemption about "get busy living, or get busy dying".  In my case, I think that dying introduced me to what living truly is.

On that note, I'm not dying and am in fact doing quite well. Clean MRIs so far every two months, a full head of hair (albeit one side is curly because it grew back different from the radiation), and a new agenda. I've pushed brain tumors in people's faces on local news channels, CBS World News, the Chicago Tribune (front page), and the Bonnie Hunt Show. My best achievements, however, have come with the ABTA. 

As for the money raising, please support my cause. I'd like to raise $10k individually for ABTA, so let's see what I can do. ABTA is a Chicago-based charity with ALL OF THE MONEY OF THIS EVENT GOING TO BRAIN TUMOR RESEARCH and PATIENT, FAMILY, AND DOCTOR INITIATIVES.

I'm secretly hoping the team can do $15K more than last year, which would put us at an even $75K. I'll grow a beard or dye my hair blue or grey or something if we do. 

20000 gbms are diagnosed each year. They are rare and underfunded (I know from my time spent in a lab), and they have such profound effects on patients, their families, and their friends. After speaking with countless others with this affliction and their families, I know I'm not alone.  Let's stop it!