Astrocytoma survivor gives back to MD Anderson

Jim Bartlett, now 57, was a self-described workaholic before his brain tumor diagnosis in 2022. 

“I’ve been practicing for almost 29 years. Before my diagnosis, I would work six, seven days a week; that was normal to me,” says the Houston-area trial lawyer and commercial litigator. 

Jim started having some unusual symptoms in April 2022: his right leg would move involuntarily. He blamed it on exhaustion and stress, but his wife, Cindy, encouraged him to schedule a scan with his primary care doctor. 

“I went in for the scan on a Saturday, and the doctor called me on Monday. She said, ‘You probably have a tumor,’” Jim recalls.  

Choosing MD Anderson for brain tumor treatment

The involuntary movements he’d been having were called focal aware seizures, a common brain tumor symptom. He’d also had intermittent brain fog. “I chalked it up to not getting enough sleep, working too much, or working out too much, but I now know that may have been the tumor,” he explains.

Family and friends encouraged Jim to go to MD Anderson for treatment. “Everybody said, ‘MD Anderson is the best in the world,’” he remembers. One friend recommended neurosurgeon Jeffrey Weinberg, M.D. “Dr. Weinberg was great from the outset,” says Jim. “His bedside manner is second to none.” 

Jim’s scans and symptoms led Weinberg to suspect that Jim had a Grade 4 astrocytoma, an aggressive, malignant brain tumor. “Prior to surgery, the diagnosis is presumed but is not guaranteed,” explains Weinberg. “Surgery is needed to establish the diagnosis and remove as much tumor as safely as possible.”  

Treatment includes surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Weinberg scheduled Jim for surgery a week after their first appointment. “That’s how well-organized MD Anderson is,” says Jim. As he tells other new patients: “Be prepared for rapid-fire tests starting on day one!” 

Successful astrocytoma surgery

Grade 4 astrocytoma cells are often mixed with healthy brain tissue, making surgery complicated. To help Weinberg differentiate tumor from healthy tissue, Jim drank a liquid medication called 5-ALA. It causes the tumor to glow pink under a fluorescent light during surgery, helping the surgeon identify and remove cancerous tissue while protecting vital parts of the brain. Shortly before surgery, “I chugged it, and I was out!” recalls Jim of taking the 5-ALA. 

“I was prepared to be awake for most of my surgery,” says Jim, though he wasn’t looking forward to it. In some brain tumor surgeries, surgeons wake the patient up during surgery. The patient reads words or performs simple tasks while the surgeon operates, to help protect essential parts of the brain for movement and speech. 

But Weinberg and the surgical team didn’t need to wake Jim up. “MD Anderson had mapped my brain motor and speech centers so thoroughly that they were able to determine that the tumor didn’t intersect with those centers,” explains Jim. 

When Jim awoke in recovery, he remembers feeling groggy, but having no immediate pain. And there was good news: Weinberg had removed as much of the tumor as possible. 

Recovery from astrocytoma surgery

After surgery, Jim had headaches. He received intravenous medication to manage the headaches while he recovered in the hospital. When he got home two days after surgery, he managed the pain with prescription medication.   

Analysis of the tumor after surgery confirmed the diagnosis of Grade 4 astrocytoma with an IDH mutation, an aggressive form of brain cancer that until recently was considered to be glioblastoma. “We remove what we can see, but there are always tumor cells remaining,” says Weinberg. That means even after surgery, astrocytoma patients need radiation and chemotherapy. So, Jim began treatment with neuro-oncologist Ashley Aaroe, M.D., whom he calls “amazing.” 

Aaroe prescribed radiation therapy and temozolomide to treat any remaining cancerous cells in Jim’s brain. Jim had both at the same time, followed by a course of temozolomide alone. An oral form of chemotherapy, temozolomide can be taken in a pill instead of intravenously, because this treatment can cross the blood-brain barrier adequately when taken by mouth. 

As long as Jim took his anti-nausea medicine, the temozolomide side effects were manageable: “Just a little fatigue,” he says. Jim received the temozolomide through a mail service, so he didn’t have to go to the hospital. 

After surgery and treatment, Jim’s speech and mobility remained intact, so he didn’t need physical or occupational therapy. “My balance and mental acuity took a bit to come back fully,” he says, but he was able to return to work and daily activities within weeks of the surgery. 

Friends, family and patient give back to MD Anderson

In August 2022, Jim’s friends invited more than 100 loved ones to a party celebrating Jim and his recovery. The group raised $21,000 for brain tumor research at MD Anderson. “It was amazing, fun, and so good to see all those people,” reflects Jim. "I’m grateful."

He wanted to keep paying it forward, so he applied to join MD Anderson’s Patient and Family Advisor Program (PFAP). The program comprises MD Anderson patients, family members and employees, who meet monthly to provide feedback and improve the patient experience. 

The program’s volunteers have offered input on everything from facilities renovations to MyChart updates. “I feel like the hospital takes our input to heart,” says Jim. “The best never rests. MD Anderson is trying to improve on every aspect of its operations on a continual basis.” 

Living life to the fullest after brain tumor treatment

Jim is now back at work. But cancer made him realize that he needed to improve his work-life balance. From Europe to Las Vegas to the Florida Keys, Jim has traveled widely with family and friends. “I say yes to pretty much everything, if I can squeeze it in,” he says.  

His faith and church community have also helped him. Jim even volunteers every year on a medical mission trip to Guatemala with a faith-based organization, where he helps assemble wheelchairs and perform data entry for patient intake.  

He’s also focused on spending quality time with his family. “I have a strong connection with my wife, Cindy, and my sons, Blake and Connor, but I feel like the additional time with them has further strengthened those bonds,” says Jim. They’ve even added a new member: Bella, a now 14-month-old English lab.  

Jim enjoys skiing and working out, and he encourages other cancer patients to stay active. “Don’t give up! It will allow you to better endure the treatment,” he says. 

In fact, that’s Jim’s motto: “Never give up.”  

“I know that I can’t cure cancer,” he says, “but a positive mindset will allow you to face treatment with more resilience, and it’ll lower the stress level of your loved ones.” 

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