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jessica soares of beeton, ont. knows that well. losing her husband paulo to glioblastoma when he was 39 left her looking for a way to keep fighting in his memory and channel her pain in a positive way. now she is an ambassador for the volunteer organization brain cancer canada .
malignant brain tumours are the biggest cancer killer of adults under 40. glioblastoma is one of the deadliest forms, according to brain cancer canada , striking four out of every 100,000 people in canada, and accounting for 12 to 15 per cent of all intracranial tumours where the cells in an abnormal mass of tissue grow and multiply uncontrollably. glioblastoma captured the world’s attention in 2017 when it ended the life of iconic singer-songwriter gord downie of the tragically hip.
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“that was obviously a really crippling moment for me,” she says of the news. she had another surgery in october and was also enrolled in a clinical trial for a treatment, but that didn’t work for her. then it was back to chemotherapy. now grundy is on long-term disability, sharing her story to support patients, caregivers and families through the brain tumour foundation of canada , an organization that established the brain tumour registry of canada in 2019 to collect data and support research. she lives with symptoms of fatigue and challenges with communication, planning and multitasking — and the uncertainty of her disease — while she waits for her next mri to see if she’s in the clear.
but there’s hope in the work of neurosurgeons at the university health network (uhn) in toronto, who have developed a new therapy for patients with glioblastoma in a clinical trial. the results, published in the journal nature medicine , show early promise that the novel approach can eradicate the tumour in certain patients and prolong their life.
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“glioblastoma is the most aggressive brain cancer that exists. it’s one of the most deadliest cancers of the body,” says dr. farshad nassiri, neurosurgery resident and scientist with the uhn krembil brain institute . he worked closely with lead author dr. gelareh zadeh, neurosurgeon and co-director of the krembil brain institute and senior scientist at princess margaret cancer centre.
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it’s this kind of hope that patients, caregivers and families are looking for from research like this from uhn, says shannon lahaye, ceo of the brain tumour foundation of canada . “it’s hope for new or better treatments, hope for better quality of life, and quite honestly hope for a little more time with their loved ones.”
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