After Surviving Seven Metastatic Brain Tumors, Plus Systemic Tumors, Retired Pastor Uses His Experiences to Encourage OthersScott Erdman was 24 when diagnosed with melanoma. Doctors estimated he had three years to live. That was 34 years ago. Since then, he has fought – and beaten – seven metastatic brain tumors and systemic metastatic tumors of the kidney, spleen, pancreas and lymph nodes. According to his neurosurgeon, Keith Black, MD, chair and professor of neurosurgery, he is believed to be one of the longest-living survivors of these types of tumors, and he has no evidence of residual cancer. Now retired after 29 years as associate pastor of the Hollywood Presbyterian Church, Erdman is using his experiences to encourage and support other cancer patients at Cedars-Sinai.
New Teleconsultation Technology Enables Colorado Mom to Consult From Her Living Room With Cedars-Sinai Neurosurgeon for Tumor Previously Considered InoperableDoctors in Denver told Katie Lewis, who was pregnant with her third child, that a benign tumor growing in the space beneath her brain could not be safely removed and the double vision she was experiencing would remain for life. Then she heard about new teleconsultation technology at Cedars-Sinai that enables neurologists and neurosurgeons to conduct one-to-one visits with patients virtually anywhere in the world. From her living room in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, Lewis consulted Michael Alexander, MD, who examined her eye movements, conducted basic exams, and reviewed her brain scans with her. “We discussed the risks and benefits of surgery as if she were here in the clinic,” he says. The operation was scheduled, nearly all of the tumor was removed, and two weeks later Lewis’ vision snapped back into focus. She since has taken up photography as a hobby.
University of California, Irvine Art Professor Back to Work After Surgery to Repair Leaking Blood Vessel Malformation in Her BrainYong Soon Min was in South Korea on a Fulbright scholarship when excruciating headaches brought the University of California, Irvine professor’s work to a halt. After a week in a Seoul hospital, where doctors found no clear cause, she checked herself out and tried to go on. The headaches were better, but memory and word-selection issues remained. Back in the U.S., doctors discovered an abnormal tangle of blood vessels – an arteriovenous malformation, or AVM. Her neurosurgeon used intraoperative, 3-D, computer-guided imaging to successfully remove it. Min completed the Fulbright research and resumed teaching.
Deep Brain Stimulation Tames Former Singer’s Essential Tremor After Medications and Injections Lose EffectivenessIn the 1960s, singer Annita Ray Hirsch performed in Las Vegas and in many parts of the world, even spending two months in Vietnam in 1967. She retired from singing in 1970 and later went into commercial real estate. But when her voice started to quiver, people in important meetings wondered if she was nervous. Instead, the unsteadiness was caused by an essential tremor, and it spread to affect her hands, head and balance. She tried medications and botulinum toxin injections into the back of her neck and vocal cords, but effectiveness waned. She eventually had deep brain stimulation devices implanted at Cedars-Sinai. Initially hesitant to have the procedure, she now says. “I’m just sorry I didn’t do it sooner.”
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