Living With Glioblastoma
- "Antiques Roadshow" expert Theo Burrell, 36, revealed that she has an aggressive form of brain cancer called glioblastoma and received surgery, radiation and chemotherapy for treatment.
- A grade 4 glioblastoma brain tumor, like Burrell has, "grows and spreads very quickly," according to the National Cancer Institute. The average survival rate is 15 months with treatment and less than six if left untreated.
- The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the chemotherapy drug temozolomide (brand name Temodar) was a huge breakthrough in helping patients with this aggressive disease.
- And tumor-targeting fields (TTFields) use low-intensity electric fields to disrupt the cell division process, making it harder for cancerous cells to multiply. Optune is one device, and this therapy can help extend the lives of patients by two years on average.
"Antiques Roadshow" star Theo Burrell, 36, is known for her expertise in ceramics on the long-running program but behind-the-scenes she's in the midst of an emotional cancer journey. Burrell revealed that she was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, just last year.
"Receiving my diagnosis, at the age of 35, when my son was one-year-old, was devastating," the reality TV star said to U.K.-based news outlet The Sun.
Read MoreView this post on InstagramBurrell is among the team of experts that appear on the popular television show that comes from auction houses. The show has been around since 1979 and has had various iterations over the years.
Burrell appears 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.
Burrell lends her expertise in fine furniture and works of art and decorative arts design. She also specializes in European ceramics and glass, taxidermy, and tribal art, according to Lyon and Turnbull the auction house she's affiliated with.
Longtime viewers of "Antiques Roadshow" may agree the show is like a history lesson blended with a treasure hunt. The antiques everyday people dish out for appraisal reveal fascinating stories, giving life to the phrase “one man's trash can be another man's treasure.”
For Burrell, as she studied the many treasures she came across on the show, her brain tumor diagnosis took a toll.
"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.
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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."
Living With Glioblastoma
Glioblastoma is considered a central nervous system (CNS) tumor. Burrell's tumor is considered grade 4 which means her brain tumor "grows and spreads very quickly" according to the National Cancer Institute.
The average survival rate is 15 months with treatment and less than six if left untreated, according to the National Cancer Institute. While there is a five-year survival rate of approximately 6%, those individuals will never be cancer-free and must continue receiving radiation and chemotherapy for the rest of their lives.
What makes glioblastomas so difficult to treat and manage is their cells are heterogeneous, meaning that each one must be individually targeted to slow tumor growth. Surgery also cannot remove all of the cancer because of the way the tumor burrows into the brain. This means the tumor starts to grow again immediately after surgery.
Options to Treat Glioblastoma
Although glioblastomas are difficult to treat, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of the drug temozolomide (brand name Temodar) was a huge breakthrough in helping patients with this aggressive disease.
Temozolomide is a chemotherapy drug patients can take after surgery and radiation. During radiation treatment, doctors use high-energy beams such as X-rays to target and kill cancer cells.
Dr. Daniel Wahl, professor of radiation and oncology at the University of Michigan, explains Temozolomide is an oral drug that works by "slowing down tumor growth."
"Patients with GBM have effective treatment options, there's four of them: surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and tumor targeting fields. These are electric fields that we can use to treat these cancers," Dr. Wahl said.
Other FDA-approved drugs created to treat glioblastoma include lomustine (brand name Gleostine), intravenous carmustine (brand name Bicnu), carmustine wafer implants, and Avastin (brand name bevacizumab).
Avastin is a targeted drug therapy that blocks glioblastoma cells from sending requests for new blood vessels that feed and allow the tumor to grow.
"Outcomes for these patients are still suboptimal. 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 absolutely exceptional circumstances would we ever talk about getting rid of one of these cancers a few," Dr. Wahl said.
WATCH: Using electric sources to improve glioblastoma treatment.
Fortunately, research is ongoing to improve the prognosis for people battling glioblastoma. One area of promise is tumor-treating fields which can help extend the lives of patients by two years on average, giving them hope.
Optune, the brand name for the tumor-treating fields delivery device, was launched in 2011 and approved by the FDA in 2015. It is a wearable and portable device for glioblastoma treatment for adult patients aged 22 years or older.
"There's been a very exciting development of tumor treating fields, which are electrical fields that have been applied to the brain," Dr. Suriya Jeyapalan, a neurologist at Tufts Medical Center, previously told Survivor Net.
TTFields use low-intensity electric fields to disrupt the cell division process, making it harder for cancerous cells to multiply.
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?
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