{"id":64407,"date":"2022-07-05T14:40:39","date_gmt":"2022-07-05T20:40:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=64407"},"modified":"2022-07-05T14:52:38","modified_gmt":"2022-07-05T20:52:38","slug":"living-with-oligodendroglioma-brain-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/living-with-oligodendroglioma-brain-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Confronting a rare brain tumor at 21: ‘Well, I got it. Let’s get rid of it’"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>
\"Family
The family dog, Toto, has been a comfort to Jack O’Donnell as he recovered from surgery and radiation just after he turned 21. Jack has learned to live with oligodendroglioma, a rare form of brain cancer. Photos by Sonya Doctorian, UCHealth.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jack O\u2019Donnell allowed himself a sliver of cake and the luxury of opening a few gifts on his birthday in February. But he forfeited the typical rites of passage that many of his peers enjoy upon turning 21.<\/p>\n

The next morning, Jack would head to the hospital for brain surgery, where doctors would operate to remove a fist-sized tumor that had been discovered just weeks before.<\/p>\n

For the Centennial resident and 2019 Eaglecrest High School<\/a> graduate, the journey from thriving, healthy college junior to thriving, healthy brain cancer survivor has taken him down a path few his age could imagine.<\/p>\n

\u201cI never really had any medical problems. I haven\u2019t even had my wisdom teeth out,\u201d Jack said. \u201cThen I went to having to tell my parents: \u2018I\u2019ve got an issue \u2013 they found a mass in my brain.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

That mass was oligodendroglioma: a rare, incurable<\/a> but operable brain cancer that makes up only 4% of all brain tumors and typically strikes men ages 40 to 60.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a type of brain cancer, but this is a treatable type of brain cancer. We can\u2019t give him a cure, but we can put him into remission,\u201d said Colin Catel<\/a>, a UCHealth physician assistant, who has been treating Jack along with Dr. Kevin Lillehei<\/a>, the neurosurgeon who performed Jack\u2019s surgery at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Living with oligodendroglioma<\/strong><\/h2>\n

But just as he had the bad luck to be staring down a daunting trial as a college junior, Jack also had the good fortune to have a loving family \u2014 his parents and three older sisters who have been at his side \u2014 along with highly skilled and caring doctors and staff to treat him.<\/p>\n

\"Jack
Jack O’Donnell was driving to his college internship in Oklahoma City when pressure from a brain tumor affected the vision in his right eye. An MRI revealed oligodendroglioma. He has surgery to remove the tumor the day after his 21st birthday. “I wasn’t going to let it get to me. When I first learned I had the tumor, I was a little like, ‘Why me,’ then I thought, “Well, I got it. Let’s get rid of it.”<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cWe were very fortunate that his tumor was diagnosed quickly and that he received such great medical care,\u201d said Jack\u2019s mother, Maria O\u2019Donnell, a recently retired teacher.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s also helped that Jack has looked at cancer as more of a test than a tragedy, a disruption instead of a disaster, a complication not a catastrophe.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t going to let it get to me. When I first learned I had the tumor I was a little like, \u2018Why me,\u2019 but then I thought, \u2018Well, I got it, let\u2019s get rid of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A competitor’s treatment plan<\/strong><\/h2>\n

A huge sports fan, especially his beloved Oklahoma State University Cowboys<\/a> where he attends school, Jack understands the components of a good game plan: patience, perseverance and purpose, all of which he possesses in spades.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just really proud and impressed that he hasn\u2019t cursed his fate or defined himself as a victim,\u201d said his father Casey O\u2019Donnell, an industrial engineer. \u201cHe faced it and felt the fear, but then said, \u2018OK, what do we need to do about it?\u2019 He\u2019s really grown up in a short amount of time and has handled the whole situation with a lot of courage and maturity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jack is not one to be easily disappointed or dissuaded, more annoyed at the inconvenience and disruption the tumor has brought to his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything was totally normal before this happened. I was happy and ready to start out on my own.\u201d<\/p>\n

Strange symptoms of oligodendrogliomas<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Jack is used to upheaval these past few years. In the fall of 2019, he packed up his 2008 red Mustang and headed east on I-70 toward Oklahoma State, where he would pursue a three-year degree in engineering graphics and design drafting. His favorite class in high school had been architecture, and he was always good with his hands \u2013 whether it was throwing out a runner when he played third base or working on his computer Photoshop program.<\/p>\n

He flourished at OSU, but by spring, the COVID-19 pandemic cut short his time on campus, and like his peers throughout the county, he came home to finish freshman year online.<\/p>\n

\"Jack
Jack O’Donnell cruises through his Centennial neighborhood in his 2008 Mustang. At only 21, Jack is learning how to live with oligodendroglioma, a form of brain cancer that can be managed but not cured.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A summer job at FedEx lasted through the fall as he stayed home and continued school online. He was able to get back to campus to complete his sophomore year, and after another summer stint at FedEx, he was eager to start his third and last year in August 2021.<\/p>\n

When Jack came home for Christmas, all was well. His Cowboys were on a football winning streak, \u201ctearing it up\u201d as he remembers. \u201cIt was awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was probably the best semester I\u2019d had. School was good. Everything was good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not perfect though. He was experiencing strange symptoms: An occasional numbness in his left foot was easy for him to downplay since it came and went; but a strange sensation in his right ear that sounded like the \u201cwhooshing\u201d when he was a child and put his ear to a seashell was harder for him to dismiss.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could hear the ocean all day, every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

A trip to the doctor, a diagnosis of plugged sinuses and a prescription for nasal allergy spray put that worry on the back burner.<\/p>\n

But a blind spot in his right eye caused concern for him and his parents. The family thought it might be a sign of migraines, which his mom suffers from, or just eye strain and the need for glasses. When it went away the next day, so did their unease.<\/p>\n

Plus, there was a lot to be grateful for: a New Year\u2019s Day trip to the Fiesta Bowl in Phoenix, where Oklahoma State beat Notre Dame; an upcoming internship at an engineering firm in Oklahoma City; a spring graduation and his diploma.<\/p>\n

In mid-January he again packed up his Mustang and headed east on I-70, this time with an air mattress and a lawn chair that comprised the bulk of his apartment furniture. He was excited to head to Oklahoma City for his internship.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m pulling out of my driveway and saying goodbye, which is hard, and it\u2019s just when everything started to go haywire.\u201d<\/p>\n

On his own when he gets some troubling news<\/strong><\/h2>\n

By the time he got to Kansas to stay with a cousin for the night, his right eye \u201cwent crazy\u201d and he was seeing multiple images out of it, finally making it safely by driving slowly and covering it with his hand and using just his left eye. What Jack was experiencing was a visual seizure.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was most frightening drive of my life. It was terrifying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, when he woke the next day to clear vision, he continued his journey to Oklahoma City, settled into his apartment and began his internship. His first day went well, but on the drive home, he experienced the same strange phenomenon in his right eye.<\/p>\n

Then began a series of visits to a local optometrist, an ophthalmologist, a diagnosis of acute optic neuropathy and a referral for an MRI, when he was told he had a large and aggressive mass on the premotor cortex on the front-left side of his brain.<\/p>\n

Together with his family, Jack decided to head back to Colorado and the Anschutz Medical Campus<\/a>, where the reputation of UCHealth and Dr. Lillehei led them for treatment options. Jack had a \u201cfunctional MRI,\u201d during which a letter was flashed on a screen and Jack would think of as many words as possible that began with that letter. The screen would also flash phrases and he was told to think of the answer. These tests helped neurosurgery providers determine how far they could take the surgery into the tumor without affecting the portion of his brain that controls language.<\/p>\n

Each hemisphere of the brain controls functions on the opposite side of the body, which is why the pressure from a tumor on Jack\u2019s left side was affecting his vision in his right eye and his hearing in his right ear. Strangely, Jack never had the usual indicators of a brain tumor: headaches and seizures.<\/p>\n

His team was hopeful, as his tumor was not touching parts of the brain that regulate core functions, skirting within a hair\u2019s breadth of the portion controlling language.<\/p>\n

\u201cOf all types of primary brain tumors, Jack\u2019s is one of the most favorable type that is amenable to treatment with a good prognosis,\u201d Catel said.<\/p>\n

Waiting was tough on the family. Maria relied on faith, family and friends and was grateful for Caring Bridge<\/a> which provided updates on Jack to others. Casey said getting support, educating himself and connecting with other parents through Oligo Nation<\/a> were comforting.<\/p>\n

For Jack, the countdown was rough: \u201cI was almost numb that whole week. I was just waiting for it to happen. My 21st<\/sup> birthday was brain surgery. Not the most fun birthday I\u2019ve ever had.\u201d<\/p>\n

Operation and recovery for his rare form of cancer<\/strong><\/h2>\n

During the surgery, Lillehei used images from an MRI done beforehand, along with 3-D images and software that precisely mapped Jack on the operating table, similar to the way a GPS system helps with directions. Using cameras pointed at Jack\u2019s face and skull while he was locked into place, this image-guided surgery allowed Lillehei to track Jack\u2019s brain on monitors in the operating room in real time.<\/p>\n

The surgical team also used sodium fluorescein, a dye that causes cancer cells to glow much more than in normal tissue under a blue light projected from a microscope, which was injected into Jack\u2019s brain, Catel said. This procedure makes the tumor tissue visible and distinguishes it from the healthy portion of the brain, so Lillehei could better target cancer cells during surgery.<\/p>\n

After a four-hour procedure, Jack woke up and said, \u201cWe did it mom, we did it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ever the sports fanatic, Jack\u2019s goal was to be out of the hospital and in his family\u2019s living room to watch the Super Bowl. And two days later, that\u2019s where he was.<\/p>\n

After recuperating through late March, he began daily 5-minute radiation treatments through early May, wearing a custom-made \u201cDarth Vader\u201d mask to protect his face, while joking with the nurses that the machines they used were similar to the CAD ones he uses for his coursework. Simultaneously, he completed a daily oral chemotherapy.<\/p>\n

While he has a large, curved scar from his left ear to his forehead and lost his hair temporarily from the radiation, neither is noticeable when he wears his sports cap \u2013 along with his huge grin.<\/p>\n

Back to the future<\/strong><\/h2>\n

During the next year, Jack will get four MRIs and complete a week of oral chemotherapy each month. In the coming years, he will continue with routine MRIs and similar treatment if needed as his providers monitor his progress. Catel said that could include more surgery, radiation and chemotherapy.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s an amazing young man and he\u2019s overcome quite a few challenges,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

As Jack has recovered and gained strength back, he was able to hike nine miles at the Aurora Reservoir with his mom on Mother\u2019s Day and play pickleball with his dad. His parents are proud of their son for the strength he\u2019s shown during the entire ordeal. As for Jack, he\u2019s ready to get on with a life that was disrupted \u2014 but only temporarily.<\/p>\n

And after a trip to Yellowstone National Park to kick off the summer, he again packed up his Mustang and headed to Oklahoma City to begin his internship, along with a postponed graduation and a job once he has his diploma in hand.<\/p>\n

Jack said he would love to design an athletic stadium that would stand as his legacy, something future generations of sports fans like himself would enjoy.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve just got to have confidence in yourself and put trust in your doctor and have the belief that you will come out just as good as ever on the other side.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jack O\u2019Donnell allowed himself a sliver of cake and the luxury of opening a few gifts on his birthday in February. But he forfeited the typical rites of passage that many of his peers enjoy upon turning 21. The next morning, Jack would head to the hospital for brain surgery, where doctors would operate to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2357,"featured_media":64410,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[4758,28,3658,184],"class_list":["post-64407","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-brain-tumor-treatment","tag-cancer-care-oncology","tag-cancer-support-and-nurse-navigators","tag-neurology"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAt 21, he's living with oligodendroglioma, a rare brain cancer - UCHealth Today<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Jack had brain surgery just after his 21st birthday. 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