John and Jessica Bostock were in the middle of exciting life changes as the summer of 2015 started warming up. John was just 35, and the couple had an 18-month-old daughter, Olive. Plans were underway to fix up a farmhouse.<\/p>\n
John had been experiencing nearly constant headaches for months when they got so bad Jessica took him to the emergency department at Norton Hospital in downtown Louisville. On July 4, 2015, he was diagnosed with glioblastoma.<\/p>\n
The incredibly aggressive brain cancer is typically fatal. On average, most patients survive 12 to 18 months. About 25% of patients survive more than a year, and 5% survive more than five years.<\/p>\n
Six years after his diagnosis, John and Jessica look back with tears and joy.<\/p>\n
Three days after his diagnosis, Norton Neuroscience Institute neurosurgeons cut into John\u2019s skull and during the five-hour craniotomy, removed as much of the tumor as they could. Six weeks after surgery, he started radiation therapy and two years of oral chemotherapy.<\/p>\n
Renato V. LaRocca, M.D., neuro-oncologist with the Norton Healthcare Brain Tumor Center<\/a> is the first doctor with whom John remembers interacting for his treatment. Dr. LaRocca has remained his primary brain cancer physician.<\/p>\n After they met and Dr. LaRocca laid out his treatment plan, he recommended they seek second opinions. The couple did and decided to trust their confidence in the comprehensive care of the team at the Brain Tumor Center, a collaboration of Norton Neuroscience Institute and Norton Cancer Institute.<\/p>\n John and his family spent countless hours at Norton Cancer Institute in downtown Louisville over the course of his treatment journey. From the valet parking service to the activities to help little Olive pass the time, it was clear to the couple that the team at the Brain Tumor Center<\/a> had become like family.<\/p>\n Juggling appointments with their busy lives and arranging child care for their daughter were difficult. On several occasions, the multidisciplinary care approach not only brought more viewpoints from various specialists to collaborate on John\u2019s case, it also made the day in and day out of getting cancer treatment easier.<\/p>\n Appointments were streamlined with several providers available to see John on the same visit. Questions could be answered faster.<\/p>\n During an appointment with one physician, a question about John\u2019s incision came up. Five minutes later, his surgeon was in the exam room inspecting how the healing was coming along.<\/p>\n The team made the Bostock family feel at home, and the community of support through tough times and victories made the countless appointments a little better. The hospital was less overwhelming and intimidating with all of the smiling faces.<\/p>\n According to John, Dr. LaRocca\u2019s enthusiasm and honesty were instrumental in his cancer journey. Dr. LaRocca was invested in helping him continue to live his life, and the doctor\u2019s expertise in a new therapy was about to make a difference.<\/p>\n Groundbreaking brain tumor research bringing advanced treatment to Louisville and Southern Indiana.<\/p>\n Call (502) 394-6350<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Dr. LaRocca had been Norton Healthcare\u2019s principal investigator in clinical trials of a novel device that can slow if not stop the progress of glioblastoma. The device is a cap that fits over the skull and needs to be worn nearly continuously on a shaved head as it delivers tumor treating fields<\/a> (TTF). These alternating electrical fields can interrupt the division of cancer cells in the brain.<\/p>\nBusy lives, a young daughter and brain cancer appointments<\/h2>\n
Norton Healthcare Brain Tumor Center<\/h2>\n
5 years of survival met with a cruel twist<\/h2>\n