Coping With Grief
- TV personality Maria Menounos, 43, lost her mother to glioblastoma in May 2020. She says she’s still trying to cope, and she has days that she just needs to cry.
- Glioblastoma is the most common form of brain cancer and is extremely aggressive.
- Coping with losing a loved one to cancer is a long process, but it’s important to know that there is no wrong or right way to grieve or cope.
In a sweet photo cuddling with her German Shepherd, Menounos penned an emotional and raw message about how coming across a photo of her mother going through brain cancer treatment made her break down. Menounos' mother was diagnosed with stage 4 glioblastoma (a type of brain cancer) five years ago, and passed away from the disease in May 2020. Although Menounos has been open about her grieving process and how she’s continuing to try to cope, she stated in the post that on days like these, she just needs to cry.
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Although she’s still trying to cope with the tremendous loss, Menounos' experience of losing her mother has inspired her to help others who are also going through these struggles. While talking to SurvivorNet in August, the TV personality discussed how she wants to help those trying to cope with this illness as well as loved ones who are impacted by it. She's launched a podcast to do exactly that, and has been able to answer questions for those who want more information on brain cancer. She calls them her "cancer CliffsNotes."
Advancements in Glioblastoma Treatment
Glioblastoma is the most common form of brain cancer and is extremely aggressive. The life expectancy for those diagnosed with glioblastoma currently stands at two years, but thanks to years of research there may be a new option for those battling the disease.
A relatively new treatment option called Optune was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in October 2015, and is available to adults at the age of 22 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% of patients with this disease that were alive two years," Dr. Suriya Jeyapalan, a neuro-oncologist at Tufts Medical Center, told SurvivorNet in a previous interview. "Now we're getting out to maybe a third of patients alive at five years. This is not your father's brain tumor, and I want to sort of give a message of hope to patients. In the future we'll add to these treatments and make it even better."
Losing a Loved One to Cancer
Losing a loved one to cancer, especially a parent, can be a difficult process to cope with. It's not uncommon to go through a roller coaster of emotions such as sadness, anger, and confusion. In order to deal with these emotions, it's important to have a strong support system to help you through it. This support system can be your friends, family, or even doing activities you enjoy.
For Camila Legaspi, who lost her mother to breast cancer while she was in high school, she was able to cope with losing her mother by exploring new passions inspired by her mother. She was an avid writer, and would often journal throughout her life. Once Camila entered college, she continued her mother's legacy by joining her college newspaper and spending time creative writing. Most of all, she’s learned to accept when she needs to grieve and let out her emotions, whether it be through tears or by putting pen to paper.
"I actually took this sadness and let it motivate me," Camila previously told SurvivorNet. "I learned that it's OK to be sad sometimes. It's OK to carry sadness with you … it's not always a bad thing. It makes you who you are and it gives you a story to tell and it helps you teach other people to cope with their sadness."
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