Mom, 36, Undergoing Brain Tumor Surgery Sings Taylor Swift’s Greatest Hits During Procedure– Thinking of Her Daughters

Campione’s brain surgeon says an awake craniotomy is helpful because it helps doctors know where the sensitive areas are in the brain while operating.

Last Spring, Campione said she started experiencing a few concerning symptoms that included numbness on the right side of her body that impacted her speech and motor skills.

“My right leg – I wouldn’t even feel it,” Campione told Fox News.

“I wouldn’t have feeling in my foot. Part of my skin would turn purple. I wouldn’t feel anything at all,” she added.

After alerting her doctor, tests revealed Campione had a low-grade glioma, which is a slow-growing tumor on the left side of her brain. Gliomas are a type of tumor impacting brain tissue. Some gliomas are benign (non-cancerous), while others can be malignant (cancerous).

According to research published in the Asian Journal of Neurosurgery, a low-grade glioma (also classified as a diffuse low-grade glioma, dLGG) represents “only 15 percent of gliomas.” However, within ten years, these tumors can develop into a higher-grade or more aggressive type. Low-grade gliomas are considered grades 1 or 2. Grades 3 and 4 gliomas are more aggressive.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) says young adults are more likely to be diagnosed with low-grade glioma brain tumors. Surgery is usually the first line of treatment that may be followed by chemotherapy and/or radiation if the condition worsens.

After Campione learned she had a brain tumor, she admitted that she was “scared out of [her] mind.”

Campione’s doctor, Nitesh Patel, at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, suggested she stay awake during the procedure. He explained that it helps doctors know what to touch during complex procedures such as brain surgery.

Research published in the medical journal Cureus details awake craniotomy procedures and notes a key benefit for surgeons: it “allows for intraoperative, real-time identification of eloquent areas to avoid compromise of the patient’s neurological function.”

Patients are placed under anesthesia for the procedure. Not all patients diagnosed with a brain tumor are eligible for an awake craniotomy as they must meet prerequisites such as being able to “participate and cooperate with commands” for the operation to be successful.

“My daughters—they’re big Taylor Swift fans. As soon as we showed them an actual video of Doctor Patel performing surgery on someone else who was singing, the girls said right away, ‘You have to sing Taylor Swift,'” Campione told ABC6 News.

“Staying awake allows doctors to know what to touch,” Dr. Patel said.

“If you’re operating in an area where speech is important, I have no way to know that this line I’m drawing as to what is a tumor, for example, and what is the normal brain and if it is a safe line or not,” Dr. Patel added.

Dr. Patel adds that Campione’s memory was being tested during brain surgery by singing.

“She should be able to sing along,” Dr. Patel said. He adds that since he’s a “Swiftie” himself, he would be able to notice if Campione’s singing was veering off course.

“I found singing is particularly very helpful,” Dr. Patel said.

Throughout the brain surgery to remove the tumor, Campione said she “felt nothing.”

Several months removed from brain surgery, Campione is recovering well.

Better Understanding Brain Tumors

Brain tumors impact a person’s brain function and overall health, depending on their size, type, and location within the brain. Tumors that grow big enough and disrupt normal central nervous system functioning can press on nearby nerves, blood vessels, or other tissues. The disrupted central nervous system can present in various ways, making walking or maintaining balance difficult.

WATCH: Hope for Glioblastoma Research

However, it’s important to know that brain tumors do not always cause symptoms.

Other signs of brain tumors can also cause include:

• Headaches
• Difficulty speaking or thinking
• Weakness
• Behavioral changes
• Vision changes
• Seizures
• Loss of hearing
• Confusion
• Memory loss

Treatment Options for Brain Tumors

Treatment options for brain cancer depend on a variety of factors, including the size and type of the tumor as well as the grade of the tumor.

Surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy are options doctors use to treat brain tumors. Cancer warriors are encouraged to talk to their doctor about their situation and the best treatment options.

The prognosis for brain cancer, or how likely it is to be cured, depends on a few things:

• The type of brain tumor
• How fast the brain tumor is growing
• The tumor’s location
• If there are DNA changes in the cells of the brain tumor
• If the entire tumor can be removed with surgery
• Your overall health

Your doctor will be able to help you understand your specific and unique circumstances and how they relate to your prognosis.

Common Types of Cancerous and Non-cancerous Brain Tumors

A brain tumor can affect you differently depending on its location and if it is cancerous. According to the National Cancer Institute, some examples of these types of brain tumors include:

• Chordomas are mostly benign and slow-growing and are often found near the tailbone or where the spine meets the skull.
• Craniopharyngiomas are rare, slow-growing tumors that don’t spread to other parts of the brain or body. They form near the pituitary gland near the base of the brain.
• Gangliocytomas are rare tumors of the central nervous system that tend to form on the temporal lobe (the left or right side of the brain).
• Glomus jugulare are rare and slow-growing tumors.
• Meningiomas are rare brain tumors that usually form on the outer layer of tissue that covers the brain (dura mater).
• Pineocytomas are rare and slow-growing tumors in the pineal gland near the middle of the brain.
• Pituitary adenomas are slow-growing brain tumors of the anterior pituitary located in the lower part of the brain.
• Schwannomas are rare tumors that grow on the cells that protect nerve cells. They are called Schwann cells.
• Acoustic neuromas (vestibular schwannoma) are slow-growing tumors that develop from the nears that help balance and hearing.

Malignant or Cancerous tumors. These kinds of tumors include:

• Gliomas are the most common form of cancerous and aggressive primary brain tumors.
• Astrocytoma (glioma) forms in astrocytes (star-shaped cells). These tumors are classified into four grades depending on how aggressive or fast they grow and impact brain tissue.
• Ependymomas are tumors classified into three grades depending on how aggressive or fast they grow.
• Oligodendroglioma tumors are classified into grades depending on their growth speed. Grade 2 oligodendroglioma tumors are slow-growing and can invade nearby tissue, but they may not present symptoms for many years before detection. Meanwhile, grade 3 oligodendroglioma tumors proliferate.
• Medulloblastoma tumors are classified into four different grades depending on their aggressive nature or how quickly they grow.
• Glioblastoma is the most common and aggressive brain tumor in adults. We explain this form of brain tumor in more detail below.

Better Understanding Glioblastoma Tumors

Glioblastoma is considered a central nervous system (CNS) tumor, which means her brain tumor “grows and spreads very quickly,” according to the National Cancer Institute.

WATCH: Using electric sources to improve glioblastoma treatment.

According to the National Cancer Institute, the average survival rate is 15 months with treatment and less than six if left untreated. While there is a five-year survival rate of averaging 6 percent, those individuals will never be cancer-free. They must continue receiving radiation and chemotherapy for the rest of their lives. Again, Dr. Friedman aims to boost the survival rate beyond 20% with his poliovirus and immunotherapy still undergoing research.

Glioblastomas are tricky to treat and manage because their cells are heterogeneous, meaning each must be individually targeted to slow tumor growth. Surgery cannot remove all the cancer because the tumor burrows into the brain, so the tumor starts to grow again immediately after surgery.

Glioblastoma risk factors can include:

• Prior radiation exposure
• Gender: men are more likely to get glioblastoma than women
• Age: people 50 years or older
• Certain genetic syndromes, including neurofibromatosis, tuberous sclerosis, von Hippel-Lindau disease

Symptoms for glioblastoma can vary depending on the area of the brain where the tumor begins and spreads and its growth rate, according to MD Anderson Cancer Center. Some common symptoms of glioblastoma can include:

• Headaches
• Seizures
• 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

Questions for Your Doctor

If you are faced with a brain tumor, here are some questions you can ask your doctor to further your understanding of the treatment journey that awaits.

• What type of brain tumor do I have, and what is its grade or stage?
• What are the treatment options available for my specific type and stage of brain tumor?
• What are the potential risks and benefits of each treatment option?
• What are the potential side effects of treatment, and how can they be managed or minimized?
• What is the expected prognosis for my condition?
• Will I need additional tests or imaging studies to monitor the tumor’s growth or response to treatment?
• Are there any clinical trials or experimental treatments I may be eligible for?
• How will the brain tumor and its treatment affect my daily life, including my ability to work, drive, or perform other activities?

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