Brain Tumor Survivors Are Forcing a Rethink of Cancer Care
By studying patients who outlive their prognosis, scientists are learning how glioblastoma spreads, adapts and might finally be contained.
Illustration: Ard Su for Bloomberg
When Kyle Donohue was diagnosed with glioblastoma, the most aggressive form of brain cancer, in spring 2021, she was given about a year to live.
Almost five years and an experimental virus-based therapy later, the 56-year-old is living a full life, painting seascapes in her basement studio on Boston’s South Shore and enjoying walks along the Massachusetts coast. “I’ve always maintained a positive outlook that this is going to be OK,” says Donohue, who still wears a patterned headscarf as a nod to her battle with the disease.