Dana Palmer has a lot to live for. She, her husband and teenage son live in Colorado, but she makes the journey all the way to The University of Kansas Hospital to see her medical team, treating her for one of the most deadly of all brain tumors called a glioblastoma. Most patients who have it live only a matter of months. But Dana has survived for 11 years.

            She’s been treated with chemotherapy and tumor-removal procedures in the past, but the tumors have always returned. Finally, her doctors at in Colorado said there was no more they could do for her. So she came to The University of Kansas Hospital and saw Dr. Michael Salacz, a neuro-oncologist, and Dr. Paul Camarata, a neurosurgeon. They agreed that her tumor was inoperable with standard surgery, but they offered something new…a laser procedure that uses extreme heat to zap the tumor from the inside out, while sparing parts of the brain used for everyday motor function. It worked, and Dana is showing significant improvement. In the words of Dr. Camarata, “This is unheard of for someone with that kind of tumor…perhaps one in ten thousand makes it this long. I’d say it’s a miracle…I really do!”

            In the video, Dana Palmer describes her condition, and the baseball-sized tumor in her brain. She describes how her previous doctors gave up on her, and how she came to The University of Kansas Hospital, and what the treatment has done for her.

            Also, Dr. Michael Salacz, a neuro-oncologist, explains what glioblastoma is and how deadly hit can be, and the difficulty in treating it with standard surgery.      

            Dr. Paul Camarata, neurosurgeon, describes the low survival rate of most patients with glioblastoma, how the new laser procedure works, and what he calls Dana’s “miraculous” response to the treatment.

            The video also contains both doctors visiting with Dana and her family in the exam room, going over the latest scan results, and shows Dr. Camarata performing the procedure in the operating room.