Glioblastology

After a “stat” MRI, the radiologist and general practitioner broke the news: I had a brain tumor growing in my right parietal lobe, the diameter of a baseball! Surgery, followed by the diagnosis: glioblastoma, an aggressive and, so-far, incurable brain cancer. The prognosis was grim, leading one clinician to ask me and my spouse, “you know you’re going to die from this don't you?”

“Face fear with familiarity.”

Equipped with a drive to learn more, I started to blog about my experiences, from the perspective of a young dad, a son, a husband, a brother, and a graduate-trained philosopher. These blog posts became academic conference papers, and op-ed pieces, then public talks, and these days, I am an organizer for the brain tumor community. I facilitate monthly virtual support conversations, and I speak in medical education settings and medical conferences to bring the patient experience to bear on academic medicine. Recently, my focus has been to educate folks about the benefit of proactive end of life planning, including advocacy for early intervention of the palliative care service for people diagnosed with serious illness.

Let’s collaborate!

In the three after my diagnosis, I have been invited to give guest talks, both in person and virtually through audio/video conferencing. I have co-athored academic book chapters. I have co-organized local fundraisers to raise awareness and money for brain tumor research.

How might we work together to address the gaps and share the wins for people navigating a complex and dynamic healthcare system? How might we educate a new generation of philosophers, social sciences researchers, and medical education professionals to recognize the power of the patient voice?

I hope you’ll be in touch! Email, DM, or send me a note through my personal blog !

Cheers! -amh