Grade 3 or 4 GMB - 36 YO

beach1316

Hi.  I'm completely new to all of this and perhaps it's elementary to post so early on this board.  However, my 36 year old husband just underwent a craniotomy biopsy (probably not even the right terminology) and the doctors are giving me preliminary results of a Grade 3/4 GMB...based on what they saw...even before pathology is back.  Should I be preparing myself for the worst?  He's never even had the flu and this is just such a shock...as I'm sure it is for everyone.  I'm just seeing online that this is a death sentence and looking for anything positive.  Am I silly to be hopeful considering he's recovered so well from his surgery?

mccindy

don't panic yet

While doctors are the ones who are familiar with these things, don't panic before you see the pathology results.  A doctor's guess after surgery really is just an educated guess.  It won't be until you see what the doctors saw during the pathology testing that you'll know for sure what the tumor is.  There is  quite a bit of difference between a Grade III Anaplastic Astrocytoma and a Grade IV Glioblastoma Mulitiforme.  The prognosis is different with both.  Also, while either is a very grave diagnosis, don't think of it as a death sentence.  The surgery your husband had hopefully means they got at least some of it out, and they'll most likely use chemotherapy and/or radiation to treat it.  There are also some good medications like Avastin that have had good results.  I have a friend on another forum who was diagnosed with a Grade IV GBM three years ago, and was told he had 14 months to live.  He had a successful resection along with chemotherapy, and just had his three-year anniversary MRI ,which was still clear.  There's always hope.