Understanding Glioblastoma Brain Tumor
- A father of two is thanking his young son for saving his life after what he later learned was a brain tumor caused him to crash his car.
- Matt Lundblade, 38, was diagnosed with cancer in November, after the accident; a biopsy revealed Lundblade had a grade 4 astrocytoma brain tumor, which is also known as a glioblastoma.
- Glioblastoma has been called the "perfect storm of cancer," and it is the most common brain tumor in adults; glioblastoma brain cancer accounts for about 15% of all brain tumors and usually occurs in adults between the ages of 45 and 70 years.
Matt Lundblade, 38, was diagnosed with cancer in November, after the accident; a biopsy revealed Lundblade had a grade 4 astrocytoma brain tumor, which is also known as a glioblastoma.
Read MoreLife-Saving Maneuver
Last year, in late fall, Matt Lundblade's son, who he did not identify by name, wanted to go to the park. So, father and son hopped into the car and made the drive there.However, once Lundblade started driving, he began to feel ill, he tells the Wisconsin newspaper.
"I was going to pull over and call my wife to come pick us up, but I apparently had a seizure," Lundblade remembers.
The "apparently" is indicative that Lundblade does not remember what happened after that. But what he was told once he was conscious again has resulted in him crediting his 4-year-old with saving his life.
Lundblade drove his car, with his son inside, into a ravine and hit a power pole. He was knocked out, but his son was still awake. So, the 4-year-old climbed into the front seat and out the passenger side door.
"He climbed over power lines and went to get help," the father says. "A lady called 911 and paramedics showed up. He saved my life. The doctors in Madison (Wisconsin) said that if he didn't get help, I could have bled to death."
He later learned of his son's actions, and that his seizure was caused by a grade 4 astrocytoma, also known as a glioblastoma brain tumor, according to the National Brain Tumor Society. He is now receiving radiation and chemotherapy treatments.
He tells the newspaper that he is determined to beat cancer and live to see his children grow up; it will be difficult, but Lundblade credits his family's and community's support in fighting this battle with a brain tumor.
"It's truly awesome," he says. "I knew that I knew a lot of people, but seeing the support and outreach and compassion people have shown is truly amazing. There are still really good people out there. The love and support I have seen is very, very awesome."
A GoFundMe has been started for the family, which can be found here. As of the time of this report, more than $13,000 has been raised for the family of four.
Understanding Glioblastoma Brain Tumor
Glioblastoma has been called the "perfect storm of cancer," and it is the most common brain tumor in adults; glioblastoma brain cancer accounts for about 15% of all brain tumors and usually occurs in adults between the ages of 45 and 70 years.
It grows rather quickly and is located in the brain, the most protected part of the body. This means that surgery should be performed swiftly; there are few drugs that can even reach the tumor, given the impenetrable blood-brain barrier.
The cells of glioblastoma cancer are also heterogeneous so cells must be individually targeted to slow tumor growth. In addition, surgery often cannot remove all of the cancer because of the way the tumor burrows into a person's brain, so the tumor starts to grow again immediately after surgery.
Brain Cancer Treatment
Brain cancer treatment has come a long way over the past few decades, but there is still a lot more work to be done. However, there is one exciting development in the field that could be a game-changer for those battling brain cancer or dealing with brain tumors.
Fighting Brain Cancer With Electric Fields
For glioblastoma, there is an option for patients that may extend survival time Optune. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved this treatment in October 2015; it is available to adults 22 years of age or older.
This tumor-treating therapy comes in the form of a cap that attaches to a patient's head, where electric currents run through adhesive pads. These currents disrupt the division of cancer cells, which can delay the disease from progressing and thus extend the survival time for some patients.
"I just want to emphasize to patients that when I first started doing this in 1999, there were maybe less than 5 percent of patients with this disease that were alive two years," Dr. Suriya Jeyapalan, a neuro-oncologist at Tufts Medical Center, tells SurvivorNet during a previous interview.
Contributing: Shelby Black
Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.
