The Lori Arquilla Anderson Foundation for Brain Cancer is promoting awareness of the life threatening effects of brain tumors, advocating on the behalf of cancer patients and raising funds for medical research. LAAF is dedicated to making a difference towards finding a cure.

You can read more about Lori's diagnoses, treatments and cancer journey here. Sadly Lori passed away on July 4, 2005. She was diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiforme, one of the most deadly brain cancers.

This organization keeps Lori's memory alive and reminds us also to -- live, love and laaf.

I found David's website while researching about Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), the most aggressive type of brain tumor. I found his website to be very inspiring. My uncle died of GBM twenty years ago this coming holiday season. David is an 11 year survivor this year! You can visit David's website at www.davidmbailey.com.

How did you find out you had cancer?

I started getting these really bad headaches. One morning, I fell over and felt nauseous. My wife called 911 and I remember getting in the ambulance thinking it was silly. I had a small seizure in the ambulance and when we got to the ER, I had a major grand-mal seizure. They did a quick cat-scan and saw a large mass in my head so they put me on a helicopter and flew me to a bigger hospital where they operated the next morning to remove the baseball size tumor in my brain. The pathology came back with the bad news -- grade 4 glioblasoma multiform (GBM) Prognosis, 6 months to live.

What types of cancer treatments were recommended?

I originally saw a general oncologist who had one clinical trial to offer but it was a randomized study, meaning a computer would pick if I got the treatment. I thought that was stupid. Then he gave me the best advice possible -- he told me to see a NEURO oncologist -- someone who specialized in heads.

Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), also known as a grade IV astrocytoma, is the most common and most aggressive type of primary brain tumor. Although GBM can occur at any age, the disease is most commonly diagnosed after the age of 50.

I wanted to discuss this type of cancer and add it to the Cancer by the Numbers feature because it has directly affected my family. My 39-year-old uncle died of the disease in 1987. He only survived a year after diagnosis. It is disheartening that this disease has not seen any strides in improved survival rates over all these years.

The Numbers

GBM accounts for 52 percent of all primary brain tumor cases. Brain tumors account for one in every 100 cancers diagnosed annually in the United States. Most malignant brain tumors and brain cancers have spread from other tumors in the body to the skull, including cancers of the breast and lung, malignant melanoma and blood cell cancers.

The Boston Marathon takes place today. And one runner -- known to friends and family as Running Bear -- will run to raise money for brain tumor research. She's already collected more than $3,500.

Harvard student Sarah MacCarthy, 25, will run for her Uncle Tim, who is battling glioblastoma (GBM), the most aggressive form of the primary brain tumors known collectively as gliomas.

If Uncle Tim can fight for his life, MacCarthy can use her privilege of good health to make a difference -- even if it means stepping up her casual running to marathon standards.

The Brain Tumor Society will benefit from MacCarthy's determination. Dedicated to improving quality of life for patients, survivors, and families affected by this disease, BTS is committed to being a national leader in the quest for a cure.

It seems MacCarthy is pretty committed herself. To contribute to her efforts and check on her progress, click here.

Glioblastoma multiform, (GBM) is the most aggressive form of the primary brain tumors known as gliomas. The tumors do not spread throughout the body like other forms of cancer, but cause symptoms by invading the brain.

A new drug called AZD2171 (Recentin), is an angiogenesis inhibitor that blocks tumor blood supply and shows promise in treating deadly glioblastoma brain cancers. Recentin suppresses the growth of blood vessels that feed the tumors.

The preliminary findings of the Phase II study show that researchers found that Recentin could significantly reduce the size of glioblastoma tumors and can help reduce brain swelling.

"Patients with recurrent glioblastomas desperately need new, effective treatment alternatives," said study author Dr. Tracy Batchelor, chief of neuro-oncology.

Recent preliminary results from a Phase II clinical trial showed patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme, a form of primary brain cancer, experienced a significant tumor response rate with minimal side effects when treated with enzastaurin, an oral, targeted agent under development at Eli Lilly and Company.

On Thursday Eli Lilly & Co announced that it has stopped the Phase III trial of this experimental brain cancer drug. They determined that the treatment would not be any more effective than current chemotherapy treatments. The company said that it will still be evaluating enzastaurin as a potential treatment for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. They will also be doing some trials that test the drug on other cancers, such as breast, colon, lung, ovarian and prostate.

Enzastaurin belongs to the families of drugs called protein kinase inhibitors and angiogenesis inhibitors.

Glioblastoma is the deadliest form of brain cancer, most often striking patients in their 50s and 60s who after diagnosis typically have only 10 to 12 months to live.

Glioblastoma is a shocking diagnosis -- and while the tumors don't tend to spread outside the brain, they resist surgery and return even when half the brain is removed. They also are resistant to most treatment. Clearly, insight into this deadly cancer is a must. Thankfully, a little slice of insight has just emerged.

Armed with findings from experiments in mice, researchers report they've discovered a clue that might help unravel the mystery of glioblastomas.

Studies show that some mice recovered from a human form of brain cancer when given bone morphogenetic proteins that appeared to interfere with the cancer growth process in stem-like cells. This leads researchers to believe the proteins could be used to stop cancer growth and prevent it from recurring.

The research is not ready for prime time, says one of the researchers who maintains there is still a long way to go. Yet the findings are promising -- and they suggest stem cells may play a critical role in tumor formation.

About 17,000 to 18,000 Americans develop brain cancer each year. Half of these patients will be diagnosed with glioblastoma.

The Mayo Clinic Cancer Center has opened a new clinical study today using a vaccine strain of the measles virus to attack recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). The Mayo Clinic's research has grown from the most basic laboratory science to the sophisticated therapy being tested today on several tumor types, including GBM, recurrent ovarian cancer and multiple myeloma.

The study is designed to test the safety of the virus for the treatment of gliomas and enable monitoring of anti-tumor activity. Eligible candidates for the therapy will have GBM that has progressed after surgery and radiation therapy. They also must be immune to measles, either having had the disease or been vaccinated against it.

Many cancer cells, including glioblastoma cells, overexpress a specific protein which allows tumor cells to avoid destruction by the immune system. Strains of the measles virus seek out this protein and enter the tumor. When it enters the virus begins to spread infecting nearby tumor cells which increases cancer cell death.

Back in the1970's it was noted that measles infections could cause regression of cancer tumors in children. Nothing was done about studying this phenomenon until late in the 1990's when the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center's Molecular Medicine Program began looking into it. The researchers are now also looking at ways to use the measles virus to combat breast and pancreatic cancer, they already have plans to open up another clinic study this fall to test the effectiveness of a version of the measles virus on multiple myeloma.

Malignant glioma is the most common primary brain tumor. The outlook for patients with malignant glioma is poor. Median survival for patients with grade III glioma is three to five years and less than one year for the most aggressive form of malignant glioma called glioblastoma multiforme.

The virus or reovirus that the researchers are focusing on is a common virus in humans that inhabits the lungs and intestines. The researchers added that this virus is something that most humans have been exposed to by adulthood but demonstrates no illness or negative effects on us.

When the virus is exposed to the malignant glioma cells it appears to infect and kill the tumor cells. Dr. James M. Markert, M.D., professor and director of the division of neurosurgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) and lead investigator of the trial explains "Healthy, non-cancerous cells in our bodies have the ability to prevent the reovirus from replicating, so that even if we are infected with the virus we do not usually exhibit significant symptoms but brain tumor cells do not have that protection, due to a mutation in their DNA. The reovirus replicates, destroying the tumor cell, and the replicated virus goes in search of new tumor cells to infect". So not only will the main tumor be destroyed but the virus could potentially be effective against glioma cells that have begun to spread away from the primary tumor to other parts of the brain.

The phase one clinical trial will enroll fifteen patients that have recurrent malignant glioma. The patients will have a brain surgery procedure that infuses the reovirus through two catheters that are placed on the tumor mass.

The main purpose of this study is to determine whether the virus is safe to administer to humans. It has shown in previous studies to be well tolerated and not have any negative side effects. This research sounds very exciting to me since this disease is very hard to treat. I know too well, as my uncle was diagnosed with a brain tumor and died just over a year from diagnoses before he turned forty. This was in 1987. The prognosis since that time really hasn't changed for malignant glioma. I hope this is something that can give the patients diagnosed much more hope of a longer survival.

Glioblastoma Multiforme is usually only has a survival rate up to one year after diagnosis. This primary brain tumor's standard treatment is surgery to remove as much as the cancer as possible, radiation and or chemotherapy. Even with the most aggressive forms of treatment the patients do not survive.

Researchers are trying to improve survival of patients diagnosed with Glioblastoma. The results of a phase III clinical trial published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology tried to improve survival rates by using a treatment consisting of cisplatin, carmustine and radiation therapy. Unfortunately this regimin produced more adverse side effects and did not improve survival.

My uncle died of a brain tumor. He died in 1987. I do not think that this disease has any better cure rate then it did back then. He died a little over a year after he was diagnosed. It doesn't seem that chemotherapy or radiation works for this type of cancer but it's all we got so we try new combinations.

According to a report in the August 15th Cancer Research stem cell-like glioma cells, taken from glioblastoma biopsy specimens, promote tumor angiogenesis by secreting levels of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) at levels ten to 20 fold higher than ordinary glioma cells.

Figuring out a way to control angiogenesis (growth of new blood vessels to the tumor) is what this is all about. Brain cancer is hard to treat and for it to become a chronic disease we need specialized medications that target the cancer cells. By understanding the stem cell-like glioma cells, which the researchers see have characteristics that contribute to tumor malignancy, they can then come up with drugs that prohibit angiogenesis from occurring thus killing the cancer cell.

When I was seventeen my uncle was diagnosed with a brain tumor. My first thought was that he would be fine, that he would definitely get better. My second thought was how can this happen to our family? I was naive back then. My uncle died at the age of 39, a year after he was diagnosed. I don't know if he had Glioblastoma Multiforme or much about his specific tumor type. I started reading on the internet about brain tumors after I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I wanted to know more about what took our uncle away from us at such a young age. I wanted to know more about his cancer.

Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM) is a very aggressive brain tumor. Patients don't seem to have a much better survival rate then when my uncle was diagnosed. Why is that? Usually we see strides in all kinds of cancer therapies. Why not in GBM?

A young man by the name of Scott Gerow is the founder of an online support group called YASG, Young Adults Surviving Glioblatoma. When Scott was diagnosed in 1998 he couldn't find much support for his type of cancer. Scott was an aspiring production assistant in the entertainment industry. He lost his battle with GBM but left behind something that can help many others.