Blog
Cushing’s Disease: What Happens When Your Whole Life Changes?
by Sharmyn McGraw
As I walked into my favorite health food market I noticed Laurie, one of my closest girlfriends, hurrying to catch up with me. Laurie took one look at me and gasped. My heart sank and tears welled up in my eyes. The expression on her...
Traveling the Extra Mile: International Patient Stories (Part 2 of 2)
by Daniel F. Kelly
We welcome patients from around the globe and invite you to contact us. Here are a few of our patients who tell their stories. Information for International Patients Juan from Chile – Pituitary Adenoma: Finding the diagnosis was the hardest part. It took me a year;...
Acromegaly 101: Pituitary Patient Perspectives (Part 2 of 2)
by Sharmyn McGraw
As a patient advocate I work with many pituitary patient advocate organizations around the world. Since my own pituitary surgery with Dr. Daniel Kelly over 16 years ago my passion has grown stronger. I’m still seeing too many patients showing acromegaly symptoms going far too long...
PATIENT STORY: Endocrine-Inactive Pituitary Macroadenoma
by Amy Eisenberg
All In A Day’s Work In July 2015, Brent B. noticed that he was losing his peripheral vision and made an appointment with an ophthalmologist. After a battery of tests, his doctor determined that he should see a neuro-ophthalmologist. He found that Brent had damage to a portion of his optic nerve and an MRI...
PATIENT STORY: Many Options to Treat CNS Lymphoma
by Zara Jethani
It was Winston Churchill who famously said, “Never give in—never, never never.” He could have been describing Rudolf Metzger and his Providence Saint John’s Health Center physician Santosh Kesari, MD, PhD. Metzger has confronted numerous obstacles over his 70 years. As a young immigrant from Austria,...
PATIENT STORY: Seeing Clearly After Pituitary Adenoma Surgery
by Sharmyn McGraw
There is a pea-sized structure at the base of the brain called the pituitary gland. It doesn’t look like much and it could be easy to overlook, but don’t underestimate the power of the pituitary gland. Small, yet mighty, this “master endocrine gland” is part of the...
Adapting to a Chronic Condition
by Sharmyn McGraw
by Guest Writer Dr. Patti Johnson It takes Two – You and Your Support Team A chronic condition is one that persists over time without an easily definable beginning, middle and end. After being diagnosed with a chronic condition, such as some types of brain...
PATIENT STORY: A Tale of Two Cushing’s Surgeries
by Zara Jethani
Rae lives on a 9000 acre ranch in Northern California, is a wife, a mother of four teenagers and is in remission after the removal of pituitary tumors which caused her to develop Cushing’s Disease. Rae grew up as an Army brat and went to 22 countries before she was 20 years old. She says, “It...
The Evolution of Awake Brain Surgery
by Zara Jethani
Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased, Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow, Raze out the written troubles of the brain And with some sweet oblivious antidote Cleanse the stuffed bosom of that perilous stuff Which weighs upon the heart? – Shakespeare, Macbeth,...
PATIENT STORY: My Pituitary Surgery was Truly a Team Approach
by Sharmyn McGraw
Gerald, a retired Neurologist, from Hawaii, developed a recurrent pituitary adenoma in December 2014. His success and experience with the Pacific Brain Tumor Center and Pituitary Disorders Program team have allowed him to go home back to his active lifestyle. * * * * *...
Last updated: October 11th, 2018