Good evening and thank you all again for the love and support we have received from all of you. It has pulled us through the most challenging period in our lives and we remain eternally grateful. 

We spent the day at MD Anderson with the entire care team, including our neurosurgeon, neurology oncologist, and radiologist. In short, the overall consensus was that no additional therapy or treatment is required at this time. In terms of best possible outcomes at this moment, this is was what you want to hear. She had about 60+ staples removed from her head today, and she looks amazing and beautiful. Anat will now undergo an MRI every 2-3 months, and assuming there is no recurrence, that timeline will extend further into perpetuity but a less frequent pace.  Also, the tumor, which was confirmed to be malignant, was successfully removed in its entirety. 

The Pathology 

Anat had a grade 2 oligodendroglioma with the IDH mutation. Grades 3-4 are not ideal, so we were lucky there. According to a recent medical journal, patients with a newly diagnosed grade 2 ​oligodendroglioma will soon have three options for postoperative management, outside of clinical trials: watchful waiting, radiation therapy plus chemotherapy, and IDH-targeted therapy. Anat will fall under the first category of watchful waiting. So, no radiation. No chemotherapy. The tumor has a high likelihood of returning, but given the frequent scans, we will catch it earlier. Additionally, given it has the IDH mutation, it is a very slow growing tumor. So, if and when it comes back, we will be able to treat it with a wide array of therapies which are only advancing and at a quicker pace. In terms of risk factors, all signs, per the doctors, indicate that she had low risk factors in her pathology reports, another positive sign. Each doctor continued to say the same thing: while it sucks that you had a brain tumor, if you are going to get one, this is the one you want, and these are the results you want to see. 

The neurosurgeon, Dr. Fred Lang, did his job, and we are forever grateful to him and the entire care team at MD Anderson. They are the best for a reason, and we just experienced this firsthand. 

The Road Ahead

She will need to take it easy for a few more weeks in terms of her remaining at home, but soon she will be able to step back into her normal activities (light at first) and start to get out more and more. She will not be able to drive for 3 months, so future transportation and logistical support will still be needed as I begin the slow (but quick) ramp back to work.

The kids have been a true source of inspiration for Anat. She knows what she is fighting for, and what is worth living for, and they just saw their mother take this challenge on with absolute grit and determination. While I expected nothing less, I know her strength will have a lasting impact on Ayelet and Yariv. 

Future Updates

Unless anything changes, we will send another update after her next MRI, which is set for the end of June. We hope and pray that will be our final update. 

MD Anderson

We have already started discussions with MD Anderson to further support the important work they are doing. Once Anat is back at full speed, we will focus our philanthropic efforts to support their important work. 

In closing, thank you from the absolute bottom of our hearts. We have been surrounded and comforted by your love, prayers, visits, and food. We hope to continue these more frequent visits, as it has brought us closer to so many of you who we know are all so very busy, but dropped everything to help us.

The journey continues, but at least we can put this part behind us for now and focus on the joy and love around us with all of you. 

With love,

Anat and Jay