My name is Jack G. I was diagnosed with a grade two fibrillary astrocytoma (a brain tumor) in my hypothalamus. It is inoperable. The doctors found it during a CT scan January 10, 2005. I was 10 years old. I had my first surgery the next day. Dr. Stephenson was my doctor and he was very cool. He put a shunt in to relieve the fluid pressure, but could only do one side, so the next week he put a connecting tube in to drain the other side and also did a biopsy.

Since my tumor is inoperable, we were sent to Dr. Mazewski's office at the Aflac Cancer Center. She is probably my favorite doctor of all time. She is my oncologist. We chose to start chemotherapy because we did not want the tumor to get any bigger. I had a port put in my chest and did chemo for 16 months. I lost my hair, but it grew right back. My shunt malfunctioned, but we put a new one in.

I have been off chemo for almost a year and feel good most of the time, expect for still being a little tired and suffering from "chemo brain" occasionally. I was going to Dr. Mazewski's office every month for maintenance, but now that I had my port removed, I just go once every three months or so. I love all the people at her office. Ann Johnson, the nurse practitioner who usually takes care of me when I go, is one of the sweetest people I have ever met. And as I said earlier, Dr. Mazewski is one of my favorite people. She always takes plenty of time to answer our questions. My tumor has not gotten any bigger (or smaller), which was our bottom-line goal.

I have always been a fairly easy going kid, but this little episode has made me appreciate the day even more. It has taken my faith and relationship with Jesus to a new level. It has made me realize even more that my life is in His hands and His fingerprints are all over my life. I have had the opportunity to meet so many fantastic people with so many interesting and inspiring stories that I would never have the chance to meet any other way.

My mom has been so terrific throughout this whole thing. She has done lots of homework and studying to make sure we are doing the best we can do. My dad helps out, too, as much as he can. I also have a sister Tiffany (27) and brother Charlie (10). While you could say that they all showed a lot of concern when we first found out, they all treat me just like normal now. We have dance parties when we are all together. I can not even imagine going through something like this without the support of family, but I know some people do and that makes me sad. I remember after my first week of surgeries as I was walking out of the hospital, it was so very obvious to me that I was one of the lucky ones. There are many kids who go to the Aflac Cancer Center that have a much tougher road than me and you can just see the at ease look on their faces when they are there.

I am more grateful than I can say to Aflac Cancer Center for the caring, loving way they take care of you and make you feel. Thanks Dr. Mazewski and Aflac!!!!

Jack G.