Expert: Claes-Gustaf Nordquist, M.D. - 7/22/2008

Question
QUESTION: My 17 year old nephew is hoping to travel to Europe from Canada with his family. Where they go exactly depends on where he can get the best treatment in the event it is required . He has spent the last 3 and a half years being treated at The Hospital For Sick Children in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

ANSWER: What kind of brain tumor does he have & what treatments has he received? Without knowing this it is impossible to answer. Exactly what do you want to know?


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QUESTION: He has an Anaplastic Astrocytoma in the thalamic region.  He has recieved chemotherapy and radiation. Surgery is not an option. The Childrens Wish Foundation is granting a travel wish. He would like to go to Greece with his family. My sister has asked me to research hospitals in case he needs treatment lets say for a shunt malfunction or a brain hemorage for example. Do you have a recommendation for hospitals ? Perhaps Greece is not the best for him to go to.

Answer
It is more than 30 years since I was visiting Greece the last time and I have very little knowledge - if indeed any at all - of any hospitals in Greece or of the medical standards there. If Greece was his choice I suppose that it is important for him, so important in fact that certain risks should be taken in order to fullfill it. With this diagnosis his prognosis is anyway very bad. So any additional risk due to this trip is probably relatively small