Brain Cancer Patient, Wife & Mother
Anna Taylor 44-year-old; wife of Scott Taylor; mother of Danielle 21 and Jenn 17; step-mom of Ashley 18,
Alicia 15 and Tommy 11, is in the midst of the FIGHT for her life. She has been diagnosed with an
extremely uncommon form of Brain Cancer named Gliosarcoma.
We (3 of her friends) struggled with how to help. This website is intended to keep all of Anna's family,
friends and loved ones of others fighting the same cancer, informed as she moves through her FIGHT.
Anna Taylor 44-year-old; wife of Scott Taylor; mother of Danielle 21 and Jenn 17; step-mom of Ashley 18,
Alicia 15 and Tommy 11, is in the midst of the FIGHT for her life. She has been diagnosed with an
extremely uncommon form of Brain Cancer named Gliosarcoma.
We (3 of her friends) struggled with how to help. This website is intended to keep all of Anna's family,
friends and loved ones of others fighting the same cancer, informed as she moves through her FIGHT.
Anna's Story
(as told by 3 of her friends)
(as told by 3 of her friends)
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To Our Friend Anna -
We just don't know how
else to help.
We can't make it go
away.................
We just don't know how
else to help.
We can't make it go
away.................
November 6, 2007 - Appointment with Dr. Newman (4th since 8/24/07 - none had lead to treatment plan)
-- family had very high hopes that this time a chemo treatment plan will be discussed.
Items discussed during appointment with Dr. Newman ---
November 1, 2007 - MRI at CINN
October 31, 2007 - Anna's short term memory is extremely poor. She asks people the same question
multiple times within a few minutes and doesn't realize it.
October 30, 2007 - Dr. Rosseau calls Anna at home --- body scan shows a lot of small spots on lungs -
most likely cancer but without further testing will not know this.
We have so many questions.........
October 29, 2007 - Body scan test at CINN - looking for indications of cancer in other body locations
October 23, 2007 - Had anticipated chemo treatment plan during this 3rd recent appointment (08/24/07,
10/09/07) with Dr. Newman. Pathology still not back yet from Aug 13 surgery. Dr. Newman still does not
have enough data to determine chemo treatment plan. Experiencing daily morning headaches for the
past couple of weeks. Pain aid Fentanyl (Transdermal Route) patch dosage increased from 12 mcg / hr
to 25mcg / hr. Fentanyl is similar to morphine. Also supplementing with Vicodin. Dr. Newman orders an
MRI and body scan for week of Oct 29.
October 19-21, 2007 - Anna went on a getaway weekend to the Covered Bridge Festival in Parke County
Indiana. This had been tradition for the 4 of us dating back 15 years. Children, jobs, and other
miscellaneous items had gotten in the way of us making this pilgrimage for the past 4 years, but with the
summer Anna was having, we planned this in July. To make it easier for Anna to get around, we rented an
electric scooter (that's with 4 wheels - not 2). We had a great time - soon will post a picture of the 4 of us
standing in front of a covered bridge.
October 16, 2007 - Appointment scheduled at Northwestern Memorial Hospital to have Peripherally
inserted central catheter aka PICC replaced. This one is in the right arm and will be helpful with chemo
treatments when they start.
October 9, 2007 - Another appointment scheduled with Dr. Newman (oncologist) to discuss
chemotherapy treatment plan which is anticipated to be different than previous pill form Temodar.
Previously had an appointment with Dr. Newman on August 24 and the pathology wasn't in yet to be able
to determine what the chemo treatment plan should be. Scheduled a 3rd appointment with Dr. Newman
in 2 weeks for October 23. Should have chemo plan ready at that time.
September 27, 2007 - Outpatient Gamma Knife procedure to be done (similar to Anna's Feb 2004
procedure). It's been 7 weeks since her last surgery and therefore she is now strong enough for yet
another procedure.
August 24, 2007 - (Update from Anna) We spent the day downtown Chicago at Dr Newman's office. He
will be speaking with Dr Rosseau and said that the TEMODAR is not an option for this tumor, but that
there is IV Chemo that he will probably recommend. I go back to see him in two weeks because he wants
my 4 surgeries that I have
this summer to be completely healed before treatment with chemo. I was hoping for Temodar again,
since I've already experienced it, but he seems to feel strongly that it will attack the tumor well.
The good thing is that there were no negative comments about anything, and he thinks I am doing well.
So hopefully I'll soon be back on my feet and back to my regular self soon!
Anna
August 15, 2007 - Anna came home today! She hasn't been home since July 23. She will need to
administer antibiotic for next 6 weeks to eliminate staph infection obtained during surgical procedure
performed on June 26, 2007 at Loyola. Follow-up appointments scheduled with Dr. Newman (oncologist)
August 13, 2007 - Surgery to identify what is being viewed on CT is either infection or tumor. Visual
inspection of area is identified to be tumor. It is located in the temporal lobe and cannot be removed
without harm to Anna. Dr. Rosseau takes enough for a biopsy. Next steps - contact Dr. Steven Newman
(oncologist on Anna's case since April 2004). Anticipate Anna may be placed back on primary brain
cancer chemotherapy named Temodar. Will also research options for Gamma Knife (similar to Anna's
Feb 2004 procedure)
August 12, 2007 - Anna will be transferred from Loyola to CINN - Chicago Institute of Neurosurgery and
Neuroresearch (Dr. Rosseau's hospital)
August 9, 2007 - Port aka Central Venous Catheter put in place; anticipated going home after port put in;
informed that an additional tumor which had been seen post-op on a CT from a week ago, had grown
30% in the past 7 days. Discussions with doctors led to the decision to have Dr. Gail Rosseau (who had
performed all previous neuro-surgeries until June 26, 2007 ) perform this tumor removal.
August 12, 2007 - Anna will be transferred from Loyola to CINN - Chicago Institute of Neurosurgery and
Neuroresearch (Dr. Rosseau's hospital)
August 9, 2007 - Port aka Central Venous Catheter put in place; anticipated going home after port put in;
informed that an additional tumor which had been seen post-op on a CT from a week ago, had grown
30% in the past 7 days. Discussions with doctors led to the decision to have Dr. Gail Rosseau (who had
performed all previous neuro-surgeries until June 26, 2007 ) perform this tumor removal.
August 8, 2007 - expected to go home today; white blood count high/climbing which indicated infection;
doctors wanted her to stay to put port in to be able to inject antibiotic after leaving hospital
August 7, 2007 - Anna moved out of ICU -- expect she will be able to go home by weekend 8/11
August 6, 2007 - Anna walked to room next door
August 5, 2007 - Ventilator & feeding tubes removed
August 3, 2007 - Family had a meeting with Anna's team of doctors Friday afternoon and they said Anna
was being weaned from the ventilator and they were going to attempt to remove the intubation on
Saturday. They are treating her as if she has pneumonia but it is not confirmed that she truly has
pneumonia.
August 2, 2007 - Late afternoon they started reducing the amount of sedative Anna was receiving and
therefore she was able to communicate with the family via writing.
August 1, 2007 - In ICU for high level of care; intubated (breathing tube) inserted mid-day; sedated to a
sleep state to make it easier for Anna to breathe; culture of lung fluid taken to help determine what is
going on; full body / 3D scan to see lung capacity better; results not in
-- family had very high hopes that this time a chemo treatment plan will be discussed.
Items discussed during appointment with Dr. Newman ---
- Mention of spots on lungs - what are they?
- Pathology report from 8/13 surgery still not received - 2.5 months later still no results?
- MRI from 11/01 results not received -- has tumor identified during 08/13/07 surgery as inoperable
grown? - Referral to Rush-Copley to begin a mild form of chemotherapy - why now when pathology still not
back? - Rush-Copley appt for 11/12 -- not sure if starting chemo that day or just talking about it
- Duragesic / Fentanyl patch increased to 50mcg - doubled from 25mcg
- Vicodin replaced with a different drug - unknown
- Prescription for wheelchair obtained --- Anna shuffles her feet vs. walking - also very unstable
- Completely off all steroids - so hope is obtain some strength back
November 1, 2007 - MRI at CINN
October 31, 2007 - Anna's short term memory is extremely poor. She asks people the same question
multiple times within a few minutes and doesn't realize it.
- Vicodin and 25mcg Fentanyl are not managing the pain.
- She has started falling on a daily basis - cane and/or walker are not helping
- Spends most days sleeping
- Had appointment with Dr. Benton who has been more than wonderful!
October 30, 2007 - Dr. Rosseau calls Anna at home --- body scan shows a lot of small spots on lungs -
most likely cancer but without further testing will not know this.
We have so many questions.........
- All research indicates that primary brain cancer does not spread to any other parts of the body.
- So has she managed to contract lung cancer in addition to brain cancer? Anna does not smoke.
October 29, 2007 - Body scan test at CINN - looking for indications of cancer in other body locations
October 23, 2007 - Had anticipated chemo treatment plan during this 3rd recent appointment (08/24/07,
10/09/07) with Dr. Newman. Pathology still not back yet from Aug 13 surgery. Dr. Newman still does not
have enough data to determine chemo treatment plan. Experiencing daily morning headaches for the
past couple of weeks. Pain aid Fentanyl (Transdermal Route) patch dosage increased from 12 mcg / hr
to 25mcg / hr. Fentanyl is similar to morphine. Also supplementing with Vicodin. Dr. Newman orders an
MRI and body scan for week of Oct 29.
October 19-21, 2007 - Anna went on a getaway weekend to the Covered Bridge Festival in Parke County
Indiana. This had been tradition for the 4 of us dating back 15 years. Children, jobs, and other
miscellaneous items had gotten in the way of us making this pilgrimage for the past 4 years, but with the
summer Anna was having, we planned this in July. To make it easier for Anna to get around, we rented an
electric scooter (that's with 4 wheels - not 2). We had a great time - soon will post a picture of the 4 of us
standing in front of a covered bridge.
October 16, 2007 - Appointment scheduled at Northwestern Memorial Hospital to have Peripherally
inserted central catheter aka PICC replaced. This one is in the right arm and will be helpful with chemo
treatments when they start.
October 9, 2007 - Another appointment scheduled with Dr. Newman (oncologist) to discuss
chemotherapy treatment plan which is anticipated to be different than previous pill form Temodar.
Previously had an appointment with Dr. Newman on August 24 and the pathology wasn't in yet to be able
to determine what the chemo treatment plan should be. Scheduled a 3rd appointment with Dr. Newman
in 2 weeks for October 23. Should have chemo plan ready at that time.
September 27, 2007 - Outpatient Gamma Knife procedure to be done (similar to Anna's Feb 2004
procedure). It's been 7 weeks since her last surgery and therefore she is now strong enough for yet
another procedure.
August 24, 2007 - (Update from Anna) We spent the day downtown Chicago at Dr Newman's office. He
will be speaking with Dr Rosseau and said that the TEMODAR is not an option for this tumor, but that
there is IV Chemo that he will probably recommend. I go back to see him in two weeks because he wants
my 4 surgeries that I have
this summer to be completely healed before treatment with chemo. I was hoping for Temodar again,
since I've already experienced it, but he seems to feel strongly that it will attack the tumor well.
The good thing is that there were no negative comments about anything, and he thinks I am doing well.
So hopefully I'll soon be back on my feet and back to my regular self soon!
Anna
August 15, 2007 - Anna came home today! She hasn't been home since July 23. She will need to
administer antibiotic for next 6 weeks to eliminate staph infection obtained during surgical procedure
performed on June 26, 2007 at Loyola. Follow-up appointments scheduled with Dr. Newman (oncologist)
August 13, 2007 - Surgery to identify what is being viewed on CT is either infection or tumor. Visual
inspection of area is identified to be tumor. It is located in the temporal lobe and cannot be removed
without harm to Anna. Dr. Rosseau takes enough for a biopsy. Next steps - contact Dr. Steven Newman
(oncologist on Anna's case since April 2004). Anticipate Anna may be placed back on primary brain
cancer chemotherapy named Temodar. Will also research options for Gamma Knife (similar to Anna's
Feb 2004 procedure)
August 12, 2007 - Anna will be transferred from Loyola to CINN - Chicago Institute of Neurosurgery and
Neuroresearch (Dr. Rosseau's hospital)
August 9, 2007 - Port aka Central Venous Catheter put in place; anticipated going home after port put in;
informed that an additional tumor which had been seen post-op on a CT from a week ago, had grown
30% in the past 7 days. Discussions with doctors led to the decision to have Dr. Gail Rosseau (who had
performed all previous neuro-surgeries until June 26, 2007 ) perform this tumor removal.
August 12, 2007 - Anna will be transferred from Loyola to CINN - Chicago Institute of Neurosurgery and
Neuroresearch (Dr. Rosseau's hospital)
August 9, 2007 - Port aka Central Venous Catheter put in place; anticipated going home after port put in;
informed that an additional tumor which had been seen post-op on a CT from a week ago, had grown
30% in the past 7 days. Discussions with doctors led to the decision to have Dr. Gail Rosseau (who had
performed all previous neuro-surgeries until June 26, 2007 ) perform this tumor removal.
August 8, 2007 - expected to go home today; white blood count high/climbing which indicated infection;
doctors wanted her to stay to put port in to be able to inject antibiotic after leaving hospital
August 7, 2007 - Anna moved out of ICU -- expect she will be able to go home by weekend 8/11
August 6, 2007 - Anna walked to room next door
August 5, 2007 - Ventilator & feeding tubes removed
August 3, 2007 - Family had a meeting with Anna's team of doctors Friday afternoon and they said Anna
was being weaned from the ventilator and they were going to attempt to remove the intubation on
Saturday. They are treating her as if she has pneumonia but it is not confirmed that she truly has
pneumonia.
August 2, 2007 - Late afternoon they started reducing the amount of sedative Anna was receiving and
therefore she was able to communicate with the family via writing.
August 1, 2007 - In ICU for high level of care; intubated (breathing tube) inserted mid-day; sedated to a
sleep state to make it easier for Anna to breathe; culture of lung fluid taken to help determine what is
going on; full body / 3D scan to see lung capacity better; results not in
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| Anna & Scott December 2005 |
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