Cathy Nosacka Cathy Nosacka

My mom was diagnosed with Glioblastoma 8.5 years ago.  As soon as we found out about the tumor, we were sent  to MD Anderson almost immediately and had a craniotomy to remove as much of the tumor as they could. If you know my mom, it will not surprise you that she did great through and post surgery. The woman is a FIGHTER! More than I have honestly ever seen. Glio is a "Stage 4" cancer where the cancer is typically very aggressive and highly invasive. It grows and spreads very quickly. The life span on average for someone with this type of cancer is around 12-18 months. My mom has been cancer free since she was first diagnosed for almost 9 years! This is almost unheard of and at a minimum very uncommon. Over the years, we have continued to get MRI scans to see if the tumor had come back which it had not. Last month we had our first scan in almost a year where we saw for the first time that something is growing again in her brain (there are two masses growing). One of her docs thinks they are cysts while the other thinks it may be the tumor that has come back. Either way, both docs and our family believe that it is her best option to have a second surgery to remove what is there now as best as the physician can. He said that due to where it is on her brain, he will not be able to remove all of it, but he will remove as much as he can. He also said that we wont know much more than this until he gets in there. Once he sees what he is working with in surgery he will be able to confirm for us what he thinks it is (tumor vs cyst) and what it will most likely look like for her going forward. I have created this page for all of our friends and family to be able to get updates on the progress of her surgery and next steps after the surgery. I will be able to give updates in real time through this link which I think will be great for everyone! Much Love, Megan and Cathy