Maria Parakilas

Brain tumour survivor, eight months on

It was 21 February 2009, and Maria was residing in Israel with her family as
her husband was on a work assignment. That evening Maria went to bed
with a bad headache and nausea. She was sick throughout the night, but
little did she and her family realise the cause of her illness.

Urgent medical appointments and a CT

scan discovered a ‘lesion’ requiring
further investigation. Maria was
immediately admitted to hospital. An
MRI scan showed that Maria had a large
lesion in her brain, crossing both
hemispheres (mostly on the LHS) and

Maria and kids, an hour before her placing significant pressure on the front
first surgery (Israel) of her brain.

Urgent surgery was undertaken the a few

hours later, which last four hours. A
portion of the tumour (confirmed be the
neurosurgeon post-surgery) was removed.
However, due to its location it was not
possible to remove all of the mass.

Maria was hospitalised for four days. It

Photos (above and below) taken
was an agonising 10-day wait for the two days after surgery #1

pathology result, which revealed

Glioblastoma Multiforme (GBM), a Grade
IV malignant tumour (cancer). GBM is
considered the worst of brain tumours.

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Maria Parakilas Brain tumour survivor – 8 months on

Maria would remain in Israel for a further three months due to her inability
to travel, combined with the fact that had she returned she would not have
been able to receive the radiotherapy required in the necessary timeframe.

Maria was cleared to return to Australia at the end of May 2009, having now
completed six weeks of radiotherapy in conjunction with daily chemotherapy
(temozolomide). Throughout this three month
period, Maria struggled with ongoing severe head
pain and was on a cocktail of drugs that wasn’t
providing any relief.

Upon Maria’s return to Australia (Canberra), she

met with her ‘new’ Oncologist. A few days later
Maria underwent a post-therapy MRI to determine
the treatment’s effectiveness. The MRI was followed
by a standard consultation with her ‘new’
neurosurgeon. It was a huge shock to learn that the Photos taken the
MRI showed what appeared to be a significant evening before her 2nd
surgery (Australia)
regrowth of tumour. Maria was scheduled for
another surgery.

On 15 June 2009, Maria underwent her second craniotomy (this time

“awake”) to debulk as much tumour as possible. At the commencement of
surgery the neurosurgeon discovered a massive cerebral abscess (on scans
looks the same as tumour mass). It was a lengthy and delicate surgery to
remove as much infection and
tumour as possible. Maria now sports a
titanium plate in the front of her skull,
which was used to replace the
infected bone flap.

In ICU, a few hours after surgery #2

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Maria Parakilas Brain tumour survivor – 8 months on

Maria lost her hair as a result of the

radiation treatment. Due to the short
interval between both surgeries, Maria
was not able to undergo further
irradiation in Australia. However, her
hair is now growing back—although
she was hoping for a colour other than
“salt and pepper”.

It has been a huge blessing that Maria has suffered only minor neurological
deficits as a result of both surgeries.

Since her second surgery in June, Maria has—against many odds—shown

improvement. Unfortunately the range of medications she takes causes a
host of side effects that she continues to combat in addition to the tumour
itself. During this International Brain Tumour Awareness Week, Maria will
commence her fifth cycle of chemotherapy.

In amongst all the ups and downs, Maria’s most recent MRI (September)
showed some reduction in the remaining tumour mass. Awesome news!

Maria is becoming more capable of caring for herself over longer periods of
time, which has allowed her husband to recently return to work (part-time).
One of her greatest frustrations is not being allowed to drive “for now”.

Throughout this journey, Maria, her

husband and children have remained
solid in their faith and willingness to
persevere, regardless of the
circumstances. Maria’s husband has
managed a family blog from ‘Day 1’ to
allow family and friends to be share in
this journey.

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Maria Parakilas Brain tumour survivor – 8 months on

Maria has never lost faith or hope. She been an

inspiration to her family, loved ones and those
she has touched both in Australia and overseas.

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