In early October of ’09 Karl heard that little phrase that will forever shift the trajectory of his life. “You have brain cancer”, the doctor said. More specifically Karl was diagnosed with a glioblastoma tumor, the most serious form of brain cancer. Karl was experiencing minor discomfort for the past few months but attributed the headaches and minor lapses in his cognitive processing simply to his allergies acting up or lack of sleep. However when he started vomiting continually and became hypersensitive to any light or sound, we started to become concerned.

An initial CT scan revealed that Karl has two tumors on his brain. The first was located in the rear, middle portion of the brain where mental processing occurs. The second, larger and more threatening than the first was located on the left side of his brain- almost to the frontal lobe, near where one’s speech is controlled. A more extensive MRI revealed that the first tumor was benign and not a threat to Karl’s life, something Karl has had since birth. The second was much more problematic; they scheduled a surgery right away.

The goal of this surgery was to biopsy the tumor to determine precisely its cellular composition and if at all possible to remove as much of it as possible. Very early into the surgery they realized that a biopsy was the only real option. The biopsy confirmed the neurosurgeons inclinations that this was in fact a very serious tumor. His counsel was to take Karl to the University of Chicago hospital, where a surgical team equipped with cutting edge technology could perform a highly specialized surgery and potentially remove a majority of the tumor. Karl checked into U of C and within a matter of days had his second brain surgery in two weeks.

In the words of the neurosurgeon, “The surgery went as well as it possibly could have”. Glioblastomas have a large central mass with “finger-like” ventricles that extend into the brain. In order for the radiation and chemotherapy to be effective the central mass had to be removed, and this was exactly what was achieved during Karl’s second surgery.

In the days that followed the incision unfortunately became infected and required another surgery. This delayed Karl’s radiation and chemo treatments for several weeks. Our prayer is that through these treatments the remaining portions of Karl’s tumor can be removed and Karl will be cancer free. The entire Krass family deeply cherishes your thoughts and prayers as we fight this thing head-on.

Written By- Keith Krass