Expert: Claes-Gustaf Nordquist, M.D. - 2/7/2010

Question
Last September my husband was diagnosed with grade IV Glioblastoma
Multiforme.  The tumor was located in the front temporal lobe and was very large.  He did have the surgery and they were able to get most of the tumor out.  He then had the standard treatment of thirty days of chemo (pill) and 33 days of radiation.  A couple of weeks ago he had a new MRI and the radiologist advised the tumor was no longer evident, however, he mentioned something about keeping an eye on lesions.  Do you have any idea what he meant.  My husband is off radiation and does take a double dose of temedor for 5 days each month.  So far, no one had told us what to expect.  All of a sudden my husband has lost his appetite, he is very short of breath (we were informed he now has severe COPD) and has difficulty even getting dressed.  In the last few days he started complaining his legs felt weak and he has almost fallen a few times.  He is sleeping a lot, always cold, and is very confused.  I have been told he will not be in pain - is that true.  Can you give me an idea of what to expect.  I was hoping we would atleast have another year - now I'm afraid our time together is very limited.  My husbands mother is very elderly and she has not been told the whole story.  His brother lives out of state and I honestly don't think he realizes how sick my husband is.

Answer
I'm very sorry to read about his - and your - problems! A grade IV (4) glioblastoma multiforme is not curable and always eventually fatal at present regardless of therapy (there are some experiments on mice going on where around 25% seem to have been cured but those experiments have not reached beyond the mice stage and no one knows if it would work on humans in any way). I think he meant that tumor lesions do return in these cases. I estimate his survival time to be at most around one year or a little more from primary treatment but it may be shorter. There may be stroke like symptoms and even epileptic fits. He will over time be more and more confused and sleep more and more. When he sleeps all the time his end will be near. He will then drift into a coma and then pass away. There will be little pain - if any at all. I'm sorry I have nothing better to tell you!



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