History

In 2008, Ken was Diagnosed with an Anaplastic Astrocytoma.  After the initial discovery of a brain tumor at Bridgeport Hospital, he had Surgery at Yale-New Haven Hospital, during which they removed the majority of the tumor, but were forced to leave a small part in for fear that his vision would be affected.  Yale determined that the tumor was a grade II, and no further action needed to be taken, other than monitoring every  6 months with an MRI.  We sought a second opinion through Memorial Sloan-Kettering, who graded the tumor as a grade III, and sought to take action against the portion that remained.  We obtained a third opinion from Mass General, who was somewhat "in the middle", but leaning toward Sloan Kettering's diagnosis of a grade III.  So we settled on the fact that the tumor was probably a "low III or high II" and opted to continue treatment with Sloan-Kettering.  We were told that the cancer would return, and  took an aggressive stance, hoping to stave off future growth and have some quality time before its return.  Ken went through radiation therapy, followed by chemotherapy, and has been "stable" for about 2 1/2 years.  He has been monitored with MRI's every 2 months, then every three months, and then finally every four months.