My Story - Intro

Introduction 

In sharing my story, I hope to reveal some details and insight that might help other patients and those close to them talk openly about a range of experiences, to make related topics more accessible by matching technical terms with more common language, and to offer hope about the current advances in research.  I’ll do this by sharing a little about my background leading up to early symptoms resulting in my diagnosis of (currently) incurable Grade II Oligodendroglioma, and why my undergraduate degree and work history leave me excited about new hope for others who experience Low Grade Glioma.  I’ll include references to journal articles and information sources as I go, which you’ll see as superscript bracketed numbers (e.g. ⁽¹⁾, ⁽²⁾, ⁽³⁾, etc.) …  If you want to connect more, look for me on Twitter / X (@StupertInTO), Facebook, or through existing contact information you might have for me – I’m happy to share more and to dive deeper into any topics that could benefit from further discussion.

About Me

In 2024, I’m in my late forties, living in Toronto, and more than a year past a craniotomy and fronto-temporal lobectomy.  Many in the Brain Tumour community will know this to mean the surgical team removed a piece of my skull to give open access to the brain to allow the tumour removal before replacing the bone flap.  I’ll start my story with my undergraduate years where I studied Biochemistry as my B. Sc. at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, with a minor in physics.  By the mid-1990s, I was growing my fascination with neuroscience and what we were learning about how the brain uses its different parts to process inputs from our senses to both understand the world around us and to learn and build rich memories and predictive models of that world.  I didn’t know this at the time, but my education in biochemistry and physics and my fascination with the brain would benefit me greatly.

After University, I spent time in a post-graduate diploma program learning the world of Pharmaceutical Research and Development, which led me to a 23-year career supporting Product Development and later technology strategies for a Canadian generic pharmaceutical company.  My education taught me how to formulate and manufacture solid dosage forms like tablets and capsules, and my work experience brought me close to regulatory processes for drug approvals including the clinical trials that evaluate and establish safety and efficacy in comparison with existing treatments, then evaluate long term effects and potential adverse events.  Again, my career was about to benefit the ‘personal health trip’ soon to follow.