What is Glioblastoma?

Following the news of Senator John McCain’s battle with brain cancer, Glioblastoma is an aggressive brain tumor that affects 200,000 American lives every year. According to the American Brain Tumor Association, Glioblastoma is a tumor that grows in the tissue of the brain and spinal cord. Symptoms can include headaches, nausea, blurred visions, and even seizures. We caught up with Dr. Abhinav Chandra from Yuma Regional Medical Center who says doctors have made progression on treating glioblastoma within the last ten years, however, most of the results are always fatal. “One of the challenges we have in treating this cancer is this cancer grows in the brain like a finger or tentacle like in the brain. So although we resect most of the tumor, these tentacles or finger projections are inside the brain and they’re almost not resected completely. I understand that Senator McCain has undergone surgery and they tried to take as much as they are able to take, but the treatment does not stop here.” Symptoms can include headaches, nausea, blurred vision, and even seizures. Chandra says it’s more of common cancer in the elderly population. “We have treated a few patients at this center. The incident is three to five in an 800,000 population.If you have a headache that’s persistent then you should talk to your primary doctor.” Despite Senator John McCain’s diagnosis, he took to Twitter saying, “I greatly appreciate the outpouring of support-unfortunately for my sparring partners in Congress, I’ll be back soon, so stand by!” However, it’s the recovery and aftermath that’s the next challenge in his battle against cancer. According to a statement from McCain’s office, the senator is “amazingly well”. His doctors say he’s showing no neurological problems after his operation and is recovering at his home in Arizona, considering the different treatment options which will likely include radiation and chemotherapy.