Olympic swimmer with acoustic neuroma finds connection and healing at MD Anderson
Clark Burckle Jr., now 36 years old, is no stranger to adversity. Clark represented the United States in the 2012 Olympics, competing in the 200-meter breaststroke. He’s been a successful entrepreneur with an athletic lifestyle ever since then.
But in 2022, he started feeling unwell. “I had bad fatigue, I lost the desire to work out, I felt very tired and overwhelmed,” he recalls. He noticed a ringing in his left ear – tinnitus...
Acoustic neuroma surgery with cochlear implant restores woman’s hearing
In the summer of 2022, the sound in Elizabeth “Nikki” Lacobie’s left ear became muffled. When Nikki’s ears did not clear after antibiotic...
Acoustic neuroma survivor resumes life after Gamma Knife® stereotactic radiosurgery
I woke up one morning and noticed I was having trouble hearing in my left ear. I also had a loud ringing in that ear. I made an appointment...
Skull base tumor surgeon: Why you should come to MD Anderson first
As a surgeon, I am motivated by the challenge skull base tumors represent — both their complexity and the impact that they have on our patients. Because not that long ago, many of these tumors were considered incurable.
Before skull base surgery was developed as a field, neurosurgeons would go as low as they could go, and head and neck surgeons would go as high as they could go. Both would stop at the skull base — the bony platform...
Best of Cancerwise 2017: 10 of our most-read patient stories of hope
In 2017, dozens of our cancer patients shared the stories of their diagnosis, treatment and life after cancer here on Cancerwise. As they...
Acoustic neuroma, melanoma survivor spreads hope, positivity
Even when Shannon Long found out that she had an acoustic neuroma, a type of benign brain tumor, her gratitude never wavered.
“I was...
Q&A: Understanding acoustic neuroma
Acoustic neuroma is a benign tumor, which means it isn’t cancerous. It begins in the Schwann cells of the vestibular nerve, which is associated...
How I knocked out acoustic neuroma
At age 64, one would expect to have some hearing loss, but mine seemed to be failing faster than most.
A year earlier, I had obtained...
A musician writes his first song before brain surgery
In summer 2012, I participated in a volleyball game at church camp. At times, I felt slightly lightheaded.
This sensation had been...