Walk organized to help bring attention to brain cancer
May 20, 2009
By Laura Geggel
Snoqualmie resident Phyllis Huster is walking to stop glioblastoma, one of the deadliest forms of cancer. For the last six months, she has volunteered with the Chris Elliott Fund for Glioblastoma Brain Cancer Research.
She decided to help when she met Sammamish resident Dellann Elliott, the wife of Chris Elliott.
“I just approached her with a low-key, ‘how can I help?’” Huster said. “When I saw the amazing thing these volunteers were accomplishing, I just decided I wanted to get more involved.”
Huster will be at the second annual Seattle Brain Cancer Walk, and she is encouraging others to join. The walk will be held at the Mercer Island High School Track, 9100 S.E. 42nd St., Mercer Island from 8:30-11:30 a.m. May 30 and costs $25 per person until May 26 and $30 the day of the event. To join or donate to her team, visit www.chriselliottfund.org.
The Chris Elliott Fund will have a Comedy Night! May 31 at Snoqualmie Casino, with headliner Owen Smith from the show “Everybody Hates Chris” and Comedy Central’s “Premium Blend.”
Proceeds from the walk will fund an integrative care coordinator at the Swedish Medical Center’s Center for Advanced Brain Tumor Treatment. The coordinator will help patients and their families find resources to manage the disease. To learn more, visit www.braincancerwalk.org.
Elliott’s story
On a sunny day in August 2000, 39-year-old Chris Elliott was working in his Sammamish yard when he noticed a strangely horrible smell and felt a wave of nausea sweep over him. His wife Dellann helped him lay down, thinking he needed rest, but his situation quickly deteriorated, and she called 911.
After paramedics loaded Chris into the ambulance, he had a seizure. A CT scan followed, allowing doctors to pinpoint the problem — Chris had a primary brain tumor the size of a quarter in his right temporal lobe.
Surgeons removed his tumor and diagnosed him with glioblastoma. Several inherited or environmental factors may influence glioblastoma, but doctors are still unsure of its main causes.
The family was devastated, but determined to fight the disease. Malignant tumors send out stem cells, which, in turn, sprout new tumors. Soon Chris, had another tumor growing in his brain, and had to fly all of the way to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston to receive treatment. After four surgeries, interspersed with trying to lead a normal life and spend time with his two children, Chris passed away in June 2002.
At the time of her husband’s death, the Elliott family had little local support, both medically and emotionally. Vowing to change the landscape for brain cancer patients and their families, Elliott started the non-profit Chris Elliott Fund for Glioblastoma Brain Cancer Research.
About 20,000 Americans live with glioblastoma every year, but only eight laboratories in the U.S. are studying the disease, Elliott said. Of the three drugs that exist for glioblastoma patients, two extend life expectancy by about two months and the third improves quality of life, but does not lengthen it.
Elliott wanted more attention focused on glioblastoma. She wanted patients like her husband to live beyond the average two years from the onset of their disease. In 2002, she helped raise $5,523 for the fund. Last year, the fund reached the $50,000 mark.
Elliott recently partnered with Swedish Medical Center’s Center for Advanced Brain Tumor Treatment, a new resource for brain cancer patients that opened in 2008. Patients receiving care from the center can not only elect to have surgery, but also have their tumor studied in the quest for better treatment and a cure.
Many people typically learn they have brain cancer after they have a seizure. Other symptoms may include dizziness, headaches or a dramatic change in mood. Once a tumor is discovered, doctors determine the best way to remove it.
If the tumor is about the size of a blueberry or smaller, doctors at Swedish can use the CyberKnife. This advanced laser uses computer technology to non-invasively destroy tumors. Dr. Greg Foltz, co-director of the center and neurosurgeon at the Swedish Neuroscience Institute, joked it was like the laser from “Goldfinger,” but more accurate. Instead of just one laser ready to wipe out 007, the CyberKnife has 200 lasers coming from different directions that all focus on the tumor. Individually, the lasers do not harm the person. Combined, though, they can remove an unwanted growth.
The brain, which is like a sponge, will then grow back to how it once was.
If the tumor is larger, doctors will do an invasive surgery. Both Elliott and Foltz recommend patients ask doctors to do live tissue samples, in which researchers take the removed tumor, decode its genome, and determine which medication and treatment would best suit the patient.
Although decoding the genome costs $5,000 per patient, Swedish does it for free, Foltz said.
About 200 to 300 patients frequent Swedish’s center in downtown Seattle per year. As the center helps more people and gathers more tumors to study, Foltz said he was hopeful of extending the life expectancy of glioblastoma patients. If patients begin making it to the five-year mark, pharmaceutical companies may begin investing in research for drugs helping those with the disease.
“Besides this being a great cause, I would encourage people to walk to make a difference,” Elliott said. “Being there and showing up means they’re bringing a huge amount of awareness to this disease.”
Reach reporter Laura Geggel at 392-6434 .221 or lgeggel@snovalleystar.com.
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I wish you great success with your walk. I too lost my brother Anthony to a GBM IV in 2005. My thoughts and prayers go out to all the warriors, caregivers and everyone who has lost their fight with this dreaded desease. THERE IS HOPE!