“Antiques Roadshow” star Theo Burrell, 38, who is living with brain cancer, was brought to tears while seeing her young son Jonah off to school for the first time. As a brain cancer patient, she was uncertain she would be able to experience this joyous moment.
Burrell specifically is battling glioblastoma (GBM), which is an aggressive form of brain cancer. It grows and spreads very quickly. Patients typically have an average survival rate of 15 months with treatment and less than six months if left untreated.
“We go through a very elaborate process of diagnostics, which includes looking at it under the microscope through our pathology team,” before determining the best treatment path, Dr. Harry S. Friedman, Deputy Director of the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke, explained to SurvivorNet.
Radiation and chemotherapy are often needed after surgery because removing the tumor completely is usually not possible due to the tumor’s ability to spread into surrounding brain tissue.
Reaching milestones such as a monumental birthday or completing treatment if you’re battling cancer is a big deal. Milestones may also include things like getting engaged or the birth of a child. Usually, for patients, they may mean even more than they did previously. It’s a chance to celebrate all you’ve overcome.
For “Antiques Roadshow” expert Theo Burrell, life’s everyday moments now carry extraordinary weight. Diagnosed with aggressive brain cancer in 2022, Burrell has faced the brutal realities of glioblastoma—yet recently, she experienced a milestone she once feared she’d never witness: her young son Jonah’s first day of school.
“When I was diagnosed with glioblastoma… Jonah was 19 months old,” Burrell shared in a heartfelt Instagram post.
“Over the last three years, I’ve watched him grow… I definitely did not think that I would get to see him start school, and I’ve cried many times at the thought that I would miss this occasion. But here I am, and I’m extremely grateful.”
Burrell’s diagnosis came after months of worsening symptoms like intense headaches that eventually led doctors to discover a tumor in her brain. Glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive forms of brain cancer, with a median survival of just 15 months even with treatment. The odds are steep, but Burrell has remained candid and courageous throughout her journey.
Earlier this summer, she shared that she’s been undergoing multiple rounds of chemotherapy and grappling with the uncertainty of what lies ahead.
“Whilst meeting my oncologist, I asked some hard questions about what lies ahead, in terms of future treatment options and how I might be physically affected by any tumor regrowth,” she wrote in an Instagram post.
“In doing so, I lost sight of this week’s good news, so I’m coming back to day-to-day living and not focusing on what may (or may not!) follow.”
Despite the emotional toll and physical demands of treatment, Burrell continues to prioritize what matters most: time with her family and the memories they’re still able to make together.
Her son’s school milestone is more than a rite of passage—it’s a testament to resilience, love, and the power of presence.
For cancer warriors and their families, reaching life’s milestones is a big deal. Milestones can be the birth of a child or grandchild, getting married, traveling on a dream vacation, reaching another birthday, or something else. Most importantly, these milestones during or after a cancer battle tend to have a more significant meaning because, often, cancer patients gain a greater sense of gratitude toward their lives.
Diagnosing gliomas involves a multi-step approach that includes clinical assessment, imaging studies, histopathological examination, and molecular testing.
As patients are diagnosed, they’re observed for typical glioma symptoms. These may include:
Headaches
Seizures
Cognitive or Behavioral Changes
Visual or Speech Changes and Impairments
Loss of Body Weight and Deconditioning
Changes in mental function, mood, or personality
Changes in speech
Sensory changes in hearing, smell, and sight
Loss of balance
Changes in your pulse and breathing rate
During the clinical assessment, the physician will take a detailed history, focusing on the onset and progression of symptoms. Since gliomas can present with non-specific symptoms that overlap with other neurological conditions, ruling out conditions like stroke, infections, or inflammatory disorders is essential during the initial clinical evaluation.
Patients then undergo a neurological exam that tests cranial nerve function, motor strength and coordination, sensory function, and cognitive abilities.
Next, patients undergo an MRI, which provides doctors with a visualization of the tumor.
“If you’re suspected of having a tumor on imaging and our neurosurgeons think that tumor can come out, they will take a piece of that tumor out first and confirm in the operating room and with our pathologists that, in fact, what they are looking at is a tumor,” Dr. Alexandra Miller, Director of the Neuro-Oncologist Division at NYU Langone Health, tells SurvivorNet. “And if it is, they resect it at that time. It’s not usually a two-step procedure.”
If surgery cannot be performed due to tumor location or patient-specific factors, a less invasive stereotactic biopsy can be obtained. Once the tissue sample is obtained, it’s examined under a microscope for molecular testing. At this stage, the tumor is given a grade, which determines how aggressive it is.
WATCH: Molecular testing for glioma patients
Grade I-II gliomas – These are considered low-grade and tend to grow slowly. “The grade one is a very indolent, benign tumor that can be cured with surgery alone,” Dr. Henry Friedman, Deputy Director of the Preston Robert Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke, tells SurvivorNet.
Grade III gliomas—These are considered high-grade and tend to grow more rapidly. They are typically classified as malignant and require more aggressive treatment, which can include surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy.
Grade IV gliomas – These are the most aggressive gliomas, which are locally aggressive and require treatment intensification. Glioblastomas are the most common grade IV glioma, “which is by far the most well-known and feared tumor in the lay population and, quite frankly, the medical population,” Dr. Friedman explains.
How Are Gliomas Treated?
Burrell has already undergone surgery to remove her tumor, followed by chemotherapy and radiation, which helped extract the remaining bits of the cancer that surgery could not remove. Specific details of her ongoing treatment remain unclear at this time. However, the route she took early on is typical for glioblastoma treatment.
“The first step is always the neurosurgery. How much can you take out? Is it safe to do surgery? Do you have to rely on a biopsy? Can you even do a biopsy?” Dr. Friedman tells SurvivorNet.
The main treatment options are:
Observation—Some benign, small, and without symptoms of gliomas or tumors located in inoperable locations can be recommended for observation. Surgery is often the first-line treatment for gliomas, with the goal of achieving maximal safe resection, where the largest amount of tumor is removed without causing significant neurologic deficits. For low-grade gliomas, surgery alone can sometimes be curative. After surgery, pathologists examine the tumor tissue to understand its features and molecular makeup. This added step helps doctors outline an appropriate treatment.
“We go through a very elaborate process of diagnostics, which includes looking at it under the microscope through our pathology team,” Dr. Friedman explained to SurvivorNet.
WATCH: The Role of Surgery in Treating Gliomas
Radiation and chemotherapy are often needed after surgery because removing the tumor completely is usually not possible due to the tumor’s ability to spread into surrounding brain tissue.
Radiation therapy uses high–energy X–rays to target and kill tumor cells. It is often used after surgery to target residual tumor cells. Chemotherapy – These medications kill or slow the growth of cancer cells. Chemotherapy can be used alongside radiation or following radiation and is often used in higher-grade tumors.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved some drug treatments, including temozolomide (Temodar), to help patients with this aggressive disease. Temozolomide is a chemotherapy drug patients can take after surgery and radiation therapy.
Targeted therapy and immunotherapy are newer treatments designed to target specific genetic mutations in the tumor or to stimulate the immune system to fight the cancer. Their role in the treatment of gliomas is continuing to evolve.
Other FDA-approved drugs for treating glioblastoma include lomustine (Gleostine), intravenous carmustine (Bicnu), carmustine wafer implants, and Avastin (bevacizumab).
Avastin is a targeted drug therapy that blocks glioblastoma cells from requesting new blood vessels that feed and allow the tumor to grow.
The FDA approved Vorasidenib, an IDH inhibitor. It works by blocking the mutated enzyme, slowing tumor growth, and extending the time before disease progression. IDH mutant gliomas tend to grow more slowly and have a better prognosis than IDH wild-type gliomas.
Dr. Alexandra Miller tells SurvivorNet that Vorasidenib is a “huge breakthrough for people with IDH mutant tumors.”
“What I tell my patients is that we have these effective treatments, but what they do is they delay the time to when this tumor comes back. Only in exceptional circumstances would we ever talk about getting rid of one of these cancers, a few,” Dr. Daniel Wahl, professor of radiation and oncology at the University of Michigan, tells SurvivorNet.
How Parents Find Strength in Children During Cancer Battle
Facing cancer as a parent can be incredibly daunting. Fearful thoughts about leaving your children may creep into your mind and add even more to your overflowing plate.
“No matter what your prognosis is, it’s essential to talk openly and honestly with kids,” said Laura Nathan-Garner, Director of Strategic Communications at MD Anderson Cancer Center.
“Cancer patients with children can have increased motivation to endure difficult treatment but may also be concerned about the emotional impact of the illness on their offspring,” Dr. Cindy Moore of Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center explained to The ASCO Post, an oncology newspaper.
Based on Burrell’s cancer journey posts, she remains focused on the impact her diagnosis is having on the short and long-term psyche of her son.
Dr. Moore said parents living with cancer should seek out an opportunity to discuss their biggest concerns with their healthcare teams so an effective communication plan can be created to explain their diagnosis to their kids.
Burrell’s Cancer Journey
Burrell’s cancer journey began in 2022 when she was diagnosed with glioblastoma.
“Receiving my diagnosis, at the age of 35, when my son was one year old, was devastating,” Burrell previously told U.K.-based news outlet The Sun.
Burrell is among the team of experts that appeared on the popular television show that comes from auction houses. She appeared on the British version of the show, which tours throughout the U.K., valuing various treasures and trinkets. She has been a part of the show since 2018.
Theo Burrell has been diagnosed with glioblastoma.
However, she says things changed seemingly in a flash after her diagnosis.
“Overnight, everything had changed. Suddenly, I’d gone from being a healthy person in the middle of my life with a new baby to having incurable cancer with maybe only a year or two left to live,” Burrell said.
After being diagnosed, Burrell said she immediately underwent surgery to remove the tumor. She also had chemotherapy and radiation. She said in a recent interview since her diagnosis, she’s gone through the rigors of treatment.
“I’ve lost my hair, I’m no longer allowed to drive, and no longer able to work,” she said.
“What followed was months of surgery and treatment to try and prolong my life, and … I continue to make the best of each day,” Burrell added, saying she’s “doing quite well.”
Since her diagnosis, Burrell has become a brain cancer advocate and is focusing on the positive.
Questions for Your Doctor
If you have been diagnosed with glioblastoma, here are some questions you may consider asking your doctor:
What stage is my brain cancer?
What are the treatment options for my brain cancer?
Am I a good candidate for temozolomide?
Am I a good candidate for Optune?
What are the risks and benefits of the recommended treatment?
What are the side effects of the recommended treatment?
How long will it take to recover from treatment, and will I be able to return to work and normal activities?
What’s the likelihood that insurance will cover the recommended treatment
