Erin Lovell  Brain Tumour Survivor
This hat belongs to my 22 year old daughter, Erin Lovell. On October 7, 2003, Erin was diagnosed with a large, inoperable brain tumour, located in the left frontal loge. On October 21, 2003, she had a biopsy of the tumour, which revealed that it was an oligodendroglioma grade 2. Erin decided that she needed another opinion on whether surgery on the tumour was possible. We travelled to the Montreal Neurological Institute from our home in London, Ontario, on November 19, 2003 to visit Dr. Rolando Del Maestro. After reviewing her MRI and her pathology report, he felt that he could safely remove the majority of the tumour. We made two more visits to Montreal for a PET scan and functional MRI, and Erin had a total gross resection of the tumour on December 18, 2003. Dr. Del Maestro performed an 11 hour awake craniotomy on Erin, so that he could avoid any damage to her speech centre, which the tumour was adjacent to. The pathology report on the tumour confirmed that is was a pure oligodendroglioma grade 2. Erin has had MRIs every three months since then and they have all been clear. She has not required chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Erin has now returned to college and has a part-time job. She is doing very well. We feel thankful to God and to Dr. Del Maestro for her miraculous recovery. We are very proud of the way Erin faced her illness with courage and hope. We believe that prayer, love and hope played a large part in her recovery and continued health. µ Kathy College, proud mother of Erin Lovell.