{"id":14395,"date":"2018-02-05T10:59:13","date_gmt":"2018-02-05T17:59:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=14395"},"modified":"2025-03-07T09:35:55","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T16:35:55","slug":"braincancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/braincancer\/","title":{"rendered":"When everybody in town has your 6"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"Kurt
Kurt and Marcy Brossman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Cheyenne Wells, Colorado<\/strong> –\u00a0In this close-knit community of nearly 900 people, it\u2019s hard to find someone who doesn\u2019t know her name: Marcy Brossman.<\/p>\n

On these eastern plains, residents work hard in oil and gas fields, on ranches and farms and in the fields that, this time of year, take on a hue the color of Shredded Wheat. In their free time, they cheer on the Tigers of Cheyenne Wells School, raise animals and crops and, of late, show their support for Marcy.<\/p>\n

She is 39 years old, a strong, determined and sometimes hard-headed woman who serves as the Cheyenne County Administrator. By day, she manages calendars, agendas and policies for the Board of County Commissioners. By night, she and her husband Kurt raise three kids: Makayla, 13; Kenzie, 11; and Kooper, 9. The Brossmans serve as 4-H leaders of a group of about 30 kids, attend their kids\u2019 sporting and school events and care for their horses, dogs, rabbits, goats and chickens.<\/p>\n

No matter where you go here, people sport T-shirts that say: \u201cI wear GRAY for Marcy.\u2019\u2019 Every squad car in the Cheyenne County Sheriff\u2019s Office is adorned with a sticker that says: \u201cMarcy, we got your 6,\u2019\u2019 which in law enforcement lingo means, \u201cWe\u2019ve got your back.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Marcy
Marcy Brossman visits with one of the family’s horses on their property in Cheyenne Wells, Colorado.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When Kurt and Marcy Brossman moved to this quaint community 14 years ago, they worried that they would be considered \u201coutsiders.\u2019\u2019 He grew up in Limon up Highway 40, and she was born and raised in Hugo.<\/p>\n

Today, those worries are far behind, though there are new worries — big ones, the life-and-death kind.<\/p>\n

A day she’ll never forget<\/h3>\n

Last spring, Marcy woke up on April 6 and went through her regular morning routine. As she ate a bowl of instant oatmeal – a feeling of uneasiness came over her. Anxiety, something she rarely had, swept over her like a panic attack. She had a strong feeling that something bad was going to happen and she told Kurt she didn\u2019t think their oldest daughter Makayla should attend her track meet that day because she felt like she was going to get hurt. Something bad was going to happen, but she never realized it would in fact be her.<\/p>\n

Her worry was accompanied by a pervasive, weird taste in her mouth that she tried to get rid of. She felt horribly dizzy like she was going to pass out. Maybe the oatmeal was bad, she thought, and she was in the throes of a bad case of food poisoning. Her head was filled with a thunderous sound, like a freight train roaring through the living room, and she turned to her daughter and asked: \u201cKenzie, do you hear that?\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cHear what?\u2019\u2019 her daughter responded.<\/p>\n

An athletic woman who played sports, worked out, rode horses and always stayed busy, Marcy could barely stand. Kurt had to help her navigate up the three steps to their bedroom in their tri-level home on the edge of town.<\/p>\n

Marcy lay in bed for a little while. The bad taste in her mouth was so bad she gagged herself, hoping that she would feel better — but nothing would come up. A resilient woman, Marcy decided to fight through what still seemed like a bad case of food poisoning and decided to get up and go to work. Kurt took the kids to school and went to work.<\/p>\n

At the county courthouse, Marcy didn\u2019t spend more than 30 minutes in her office before she called Kurt and said she needed to go to the doctor. Kurt arrived within minutes, and had to hold onto to Marcy to help her get to the car. When she was within about three steps from the car door, Marcy told him: \u201cI don\u2019t think I can make it, you need to call an ambulance.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Marcy
Marcy and Kurt Brossman with their children, Makayla, Kenzie and Kooper at the Cheyenne Wells School.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kurt managed to get her to the car and they drove a few blocks to Keefe Memorial Hospital. The hospital\u2019s maintenance man, who also runs the county\u2019s office for Veteran\u2019s Affairs, grabbed a wheelchair. Inside the emergency room, a nurse who has known Marcy for a long time grew concerned.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething\u2019s not right,\u2019\u2019 she said. \u201cShe\u2019s cowgirl tough.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Marcy relayed her symptoms \u2013 dizziness, weakness, horrible taste in mouth – to Dr. Kurt Papenfus, a primary care doctor in Cheyenne Wells.<\/p>\n

One of those symptoms \u2013 the bad taste in her mouth \u2013 prompted Dr. Papenfus to order a CT scan for Marcy\u2019s brain. He didn\u2019t have to study the black-and-white image very long before he saw an obvious problem on the right side of her brain.<\/p>\n

Dr. Papenfus explained that the tumor was rather large and that the bad taste that Marcy experienced was a telltale sign of a medial temporal lobe seizure.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it was my wife,\u2019\u2019 he told Kurt, \u201cI\u2019d fly her to a bigger hospital like University of Colorado Hospital in Aurora.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Dr. Papenfus ordered an AirLife helicopter that is positioned in Hugo. It landed in Cheyenne Wells, and emergency personnel loaded Marcy onto the aircraft. Kurt ran across the street to the school to tell their oldest child that Mom was being flown to Denver. As the helicopter took off for UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, the aircraft hesitated over the field where Marcy\u2019s daughter Makayla was having a track meet so she knew that mom was aboard.<\/p>\n

\"Makayla
Makayla Brossman wears a T-shirt that shows how the Cheyenne Wells community is supporting her mother.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Kurt filled up the tank of their vehicle at the local gas station, and held his foot heavily on the accelerator for the next 164 miles.<\/p>\n

The diagnosis<\/h3>\n

Dr. Papenfus sent the CT images to Dr. D. Ryan Ormond<\/a>, a neurosurgeon and director of UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital Brain Tumor Program<\/a>. When Marcy arrived at University of Colorado Hospital, she was sent for an MRI later that evening. She was placed in the ICU.<\/p>\n

The next morning, Dr. Ormond told Marcy that she had a brain tumor that measured 1.5 to 2 inches in diameter in the right temporal lobe and insula and that she would need surgery to remove it. The tumor was pushing on her brain stem, a potentially life-threatening situation, and had moved the midline of her brain 5 mm off of its center.<\/p>\n

Upon hearing that news, Marcy and Kurt knew that their lives had changed forever.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe cried and cried and cried and cried some more,\u2019\u2019 Kurt said.<\/p>\n

In rural America, word travels fast. The Brossmans have friends throughout eastern Colorado and in many other states where they have friends and family. Their children are involved in rodeo, horse shows, 4H, school sports; and Kurt and Marcy are local 4H leaders. The very day that Marcy was flown to UCHealth, friends from the community and family were at the hospital by their side.<\/p>\n

Marcy was scheduled for surgery four days later. Before the 8 p.m. April 10 surgery, Kurt quizzed Dr. Ormond, who had been performing other surgeries throughout the day.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been a long day. Are you sure you are 100 percent?\u2019\u2019 Kurt asked. Dr. Ormond assured him that he and his team were ready to go.<\/p>\n

Before she went under anesthesia, Marcy, who is not the kind of person who leaves things undone – dictated the 4H meeting agenda to Kurt before going under since they had a meeting coming up and needed to get the agenda emailed out to members. The club had an upcoming community service recycling project. Flyers were posted around town with her cell phone number on the flyer for those who had questions, so Marcy was receiving phone calls prior to surgery.<\/p>\n

Privately, Marcy was apprehensive and fearful. Who wouldn\u2019t be?<\/p>\n

Dr. Ormond knew that the surgery he was about to do was \u201crelatively high risk\u2019\u2019 because of the tumor\u2019s location in an area of the brain that controls the left side of the body, personality, memory and emotions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal of the surgery was to help her emotionally, to reduce pressure on the brain stem and avoid weakness on the left side,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n

\"Cheyenne
Cheyenne Wells County Sheriff’s vehicles are adorned with this decal.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The surgery would remove a rare type of brain cancer, anaplastic astrocytoma<\/a>, which affects five in 100,000 people per year and currently has no known cure. Marcy\u2019s tumor was a grade III, and she donated her tumor and blood to research.<\/p>\n

Dr. Ormond told Marcy and Kurt that the median life expectancy for that type of brain cancer is three to five years, though many patients live longer than 10 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not done raising my kids, and I\u2019m not finished growing old with my best friend, my husband,\u2019 Marcy said of Kurt, whom she met at a country dance on St. Patrick\u2019s Day in Hugo in 1995.<\/p>\n

The surgery was a success, according to Dr. Ormond, and helped correct the issue with the midline of the brain being off-center. As part of the surgery, screws and a titanium plate were placed in Marcy\u2019s head and, later, she and Kurt joked about it.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow I really am hard-headed,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

The Brossmans were optimistic: \u201cTo go through brain surgery and to come out walking and talking, with your memory intact, that\u2019s amazing,\u2019\u2019 Kurt said.<\/p>\n

Seven days after the AirLife helicopter flew Marcy to Aurora \u2013 she was back home in Cheyenne Wells. A few weeks later, she began a regimen of chemotherapy and seven weeks of radiation.<\/p>\n

Dr. Doug Ney, a neuro oncologist at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital, coordinated her care. He put Marcy on Temozolomide, an oral form of chemotherapy.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo far,\u2019\u2019 Dr. Ney said, \u201cit has been effective.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

She received the treatments at University of Colorado Hospital and always had a family member or friend with her given her proclivity to seizures while having radiation daily at the hospital. She stayed in Aurora during the week for radiation and came home on weekends.<\/p>\n

When Kurt wasn\u2019t with Marcy, he held down the homestead back in Cheyenne Wells. He got the kids to school, softball, baseball, 4H events and made sure they were properly raising their pigs, rabbits, horses and goats for the Cheyenne County Fair.<\/p>\n

The community delivered meals daily for two months and when Marcy was not at the hospital getting treatment, she went to work, attended the children\u2019s events and sent hand-written thank-you notes \u2013 at least 150 of them so far.<\/p>\n

More unexpected news<\/h3>\n

Her white blood cell count, red blood cell count and platelets had been dropping gradually after starting chemo and radiation. She began getting bloody noses more frequently too. She started receiving platelet and blood transfusions about 3 weeks into treatments.<\/p>\n

\"Marcy
Marcy Brossman rings a bell, signifying the last day of radiation treatment. She’s joined by her family.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Oddly last summer, during one of the kid\u2019s 4H events, Marcy had a horrible nose bleed. The nose bleeds became more frequent and longer, with this one lasting nearly 26 hours. This was a sign that her platelet count was extremely low. A couple days later while she was in her hotel room in Aurora, she passed out when she awoke that morning. Luckily, her friend who was with her had caught her, so she didn\u2019t hit her head when she fell. She was taken to the emergency room at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital. She was admitted to the hospital for the remainder of the week.<\/p>\n

Marcy was back in Cheyenne Wells after\u00a0radiation treatment ended in mid-July, and strong enough to\u00a0see the kids at the county fair and watch Kooper ride his mini bronc horse at the\u00a0rodeo. After he was tossed off the bronc, Kooper pointed to the sky, knelt down on one knee and made the sign of the cross, like pro football players often do after making a touchdown. A rodeo clown scooped him up, held him up to the crowd, and asked Kooper: \u201cAnyone you want to give a shout out to?\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom,\u2019\u2019 the 9-year-old said.<\/p>\n

Since her blood counts were still low, Marcy was referred to a UCHealth hematologist, Dr. Stuart Lind.<\/a>\u00a0 A bone marrow biopsy was done the first week of September and Dr. Lind delivered more devastating news. Marcy had LGL \u2013 large granular lymphocyte leukemia<\/a>, a rare form of blood cancer. Only 1,000 new cases appear in the United States each year. The brain cancer and the leukemia are unrelated and unusual for a person to have two such illnesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cFortunately, LGL leukemia is a chronic leukemia, (meaning a condition of abnormal growth of a certain type of bone marrow cell) and one that is not typically life-threatening,\u2019\u2019 Dr. Lind said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe treatment for this condition consists of out-patient oral therapy (Methotrexate) and aims to allow the normal bone marrow cells to grow to normal levels. Treatment typically lasts for less than a year,\u2019\u2019 Lind said.<\/p>\n

\"Kooper
Kooper Brossman, 9, wears a T-shirt showing support for his mother, Marcy Brossman, who is fighting brain cancer and leukemia.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Each Wednesday, Marcy takes the outpatient therapy, six chemotherapy pills to treat the blood cancer so that she can start back on chemotherapy for the brain tumor. Dr. Ney and Dr. Lind are collaborating on Marcy\u2019s treatment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to be creative,\u2019\u2019 Dr. Ney said. The two are researching and developing a plan that will allow them to continue having Marcy take Methotrexate for the leukemia and a lower dose of Temozolomide for the brain tumor. Medically, Ney said, \u201cthis is both difficult and challenging.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

The chemotherapy for the leukemia usually zaps her energy and makes her feel sick some days, but a few days later she starts to feel better. Her body is weak from not being as active as she was prior to brain surgery. Marcy continues to battle the medial temporal lobe seizures on a regular basis, but she can feel them coming on and so she prepares herself. She takes anti-seizure medicine to help control them.<\/p>\n

She misses playing sports with her kids and helping them with their 4H animals, but she has managed with incredible grace.<\/p>\n

\u201cMarcy is great and, of course, her husband is great, too,\u2019\u2019 Dr. Ney said. \u201cThey are very strong people who have a strong will to live. The thing about Marcy is she has so many opportunities to complain, and she never does.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Marcy has a brain scan MRI every other month to monitor the brain tumor. A recent MRI showed no new growth on the brain tumor and continued blood tests will show whether the chemotherapy has helped keep the blood cancer at bay.<\/p>\n

Throughout her treatment, she\u00a0has continued to go to\u00a0serve as the county administrator.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m passionate about that. It\u2019s my job, and I\u2019m going to do my job,\u2019\u2019 she said. \u201cGetting up and going to work helps me keep my mind occupied from thinking about having multiple cancers, especially when I\u2019m not feeling well. The thought of death is a scary thing. It\u2019s emotionally tough to handle somedays,\u201d she said. Marcy often listens to\u00a0inspirational music to keep a positive attitude.<\/p>\n

A community filled with hope<\/h3>\n

Dr. Ormond said Marcy\u2019s positive attitude and fighting spirit are pivotal in her battle against the cancers.<\/p>\n

\"Marcy
Marcy Brossman and her children on an outing with their horses.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of evidence that your attitude makes a big difference in your prognosis,\u2019\u2019 Ormond said. \u201cSo her positive attitude is going to help her live longer. Her outreach to the community, her community involvement and her excitement of being alive is going to help with her life expectancy.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Marcy and Kurt are relying on each other, their faith and the power of prayer.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have,\u2019\u2019 she said.<\/p>\n

Friends in Cheyenne Wells often ask Kurt how Marcy and the family are doing. His response is always positive.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe go hard. Slowing down is not really an option. We put our pants on each day and take steps forward. There\u2019s no time to back down and crawl into a hole,\u2019\u2019 he tells them.<\/p>\n

Despite their courage, Marcy said she has emotional breakdowns and when she does, she turns to her kids, Kurt and her faith for comfort. For the first day and a half after her diagnosis, she couldn\u2019t say the words brain and cancer. It is a disease, she knows, that is not discriminatory. It chooses anyone.<\/p>\n

After Marcy organized a sports performance camp over the Christmas break for the kids in the community, her co-worker, Shaun Spangle, told her: \u201cI really truly believe you are an inspiration, Marcy.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Always humble, Marcy responded: \u201cI must be good at hiding it because I have so many weak moments. But I hope that my story does inspire others to fight the fight.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n

Marcy has told her children that she plans to be on the side of the statistics that say she\u2019ll live 10 years or longer. Kooper sat beside her on the couch when Kurt and Marcy told their kids about her longevity. Kooper did the math and said, \u201cMomma, if you live 10 years, then you\u2019ll get to see me graduate from high school.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marcy told Kooper, \u201cYou\u2019re not getting rid of me that early. I\u2019m going to not only see you graduate from high school, but also haul you to college.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hope is contagious in this small town. It\u2019s everywhere — on gray T-shirts, the back of the county sheriff\u2019s patrol cars and in the hearts of those coming to the Brossman\u2019s home with homemade meals.<\/p>\n

Marcy and Kurt Brossman and their three children feel that hope, it\u2019s with them when they put their pants on, take steps forward, thankful for every day they have together as a family.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cheyenne Wells, Colorado –\u00a0In this close-knit community of nearly 900 people, it\u2019s hard to find someone who doesn\u2019t know her name: Marcy Brossman. 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