Mark Siwik was diagnosed in 2010 with stage 4 brain cancer but thanks to the clinical trials program at the MUSC Brain and Spine Tumor program, he was recently able to share his story with Carolyn Murray from Channel 2. Learn more about MUSC Brain and Spine Tumor clinical trials and how you can help support ongoing research to help the Siwik family and others.
From the Channel 2 website:
When cancer invades the brain, the prognosis is usually grim. In December of 2010 Mark Siwik received the devastating dianogsis of stage 4 brain cancer. The malignant glioblastoma was in the center of his brain. A headache that left him nearly incapacitated in December 2010 sent him to the doctor. And a week later, doctors at Trident Hospital told his wife to prepare for life without him.
Mark and Terrah did not accept the grim prognosis. The couple went to the Medical University of South Carolina Department of Neurosciences and discoverd an ongoing clinical trial for glioblastoma. Glioblastoma is the deadliest form of brain cancer. Dr Pierre Giglio says it’s also the most common form of cancer in the brain, about 10,000 new cases in the United States every year which is why clincial trials are so valuable.
“Clinical trials are the way to test the effectiveness of new treatments and therapies for diseases.”
For this type of cancer, the average survival is 14 months. It’s been 17 months since Mark was diagnosed and he plans to contine beating the odds.
