Brain tumor
Glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) is the most aggressive (grade IV) and most common form of a malignant brain tumor. Even when aggressive multimodality therapy consisting of radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgical excision is used, median survival is only 12–17 months. Standard therapy for glioblastoma multiforme consists of maximal surgical resection of the tumor, followed by radiotherapy between two and four weeks after the surgical procedure to remove the cancer, then by chemotherapy, such as temozolomide. Most patients with glioblastoma take a corticosteroid, typically dexamethasone, during their illness to relieve symptoms. Experimental treatments include targeted therapy, gamma knife radiosurgery, boron neutron capture therapy and gene therapy.
Harold M. Weintraub
Weintraub died on March 28, 1995 in Seattle, Washington, as a result of complications from glioblastoma multiforme, a very aggressive and fast-growing brain tumor. He had only been diagnosed six months beforehand, undergoing neurosurgery in an attempt to curb its spread. Weintraub was survived by his wife and two sons. In the years that followed, several items were created in his memory: