Brain cancer patients share sympathy, stories of struggle - The Boston Globe

"For Patricia Whitman, it began with a smell, not a seizure.
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A strange burning odor occasionally filled her nose. In the weeks and months to follow, there were bouts of light-headedness and, later, excruciating headaches. Still, the last thing she expected her doctor to tell her was that she had a brain tumor. And certainly not one the size of a baseball and that came with a terrifying lethal prognosis.
'It's my brain. This is my brain,' the 48-year-old psychologist said. 'This can't be happening.'
In the year since her diagnosis, Whitman has undergone brain surgery, suffered memory lapses, and lost her hair - only to have it grow back gray. While doctors are hopeful she will defy the odds, she lives with an uncertain future. And after she saw news reports of US Senator Edward M. Kennedy's brain tumor diagnosis on Tuesday, she felt overcome with sadness for him and his family. 'Those poor people,' she said softly yesterday."