glioblastoma brain tumor, revealing it was stage 4
Louisiana man beats the odds in battle against glioblastoma – CBS News
BY DAVID BEGNAUD, ANALISA NOVAK, CHRISTINE WEICHER
JULY 21, 2023 / 9:19 AM / CBS NEWS
John Bienvenu, 28, of Louisiana, was diagnosed with glioblastoma in 2016 and given
6 months to live. He has been living to the fullest for 6 years. Cancer is an aggressive,
fast-growing type of brain cancer with a very low survival rate.
Only 5% of people who suffer from the disease survive five years or more.
“I decided at that moment that I was going to live to teach him what life was,”
his 8-month-old son gave him the strength to keep going through the toughest times.
We moved that hope into our spiritual lives, Leslie added.
“When the medical world, the science world tells you, ‘Enjoy your life, good luck,’
there isn’t much hope in it.” Throughout his struggle, Bienvenu’s family, notably his mother Melissa, gave their unshakable support. His mother described the tale as
“a story for hope, a story of love, and a story of faith.”
John Bienvenu defied death. And against logic and medical prognosis,
he survived.
The most optimistic thing the doctors who treated him after discovering a lemon-sized tumor in his brain could tell him was that he had only a few months to live. “People
[with this condition] usually live three to six months,” Bienvenu told CBS News.
A doctor points to the location of a brain tumor (from a case not linked to John Bienvenu’s) on an MRI image. In his case, the doctors decided to submit him as soon as possible to an operation to remove the cancerous mass, which when it was discovered was in stage 4. Bienvenu said that after the surgery, her 8-month-old son was put on his legs: “He looked me in the eye, he was smiling.
I looked at him and decided at that moment that I was going to live to teach him what life was,” she said. That, he acknowledged, was the moment when he truly began to win the battle against evil.
Turning hope into faith
“When doctors, science, tell you, ‘Enjoy life and good luck,’ but really [what they’re
saying is] there’s not a lot of hope, we decided to turn that hope into faith for life,”
Leslie, Bienvenu’s wife, told CBS News. Both have known each other since childhood.
“It’s a story for hope, it’s a story of love and
it’s a story of faith,” his mother said.
Together with his wife, Leslie, whom he had known since childhood, They decided that even radiation and chemotherapy treatments would not stop them from living as if every day is a special day. Refusing to accept a grim prognosis, they shifted their hope from the medical world to their faith, relying on their strong belief to guide them through the challenging journey.
Only 5% of people with glioblastoma survive for five years or more. John Bienvenu is cancer-free six years after his diagnosis. “When the medical world, the science world tells you, ‘enjoy your life, good luck,’ but there’s not much hope in it, we shifted that hope into our faith life,” said Leslie.
Bienvenu’s family, including his mother Melissa,
Shared their unwavering support during his journey. Their road, however, was daunting, and Bienvenu’s father, Jimmy and brother, James, who were doctors, faced the challenge of reconciling their professional knowledge with their family’s reality.
The family celebrated each milestone, making the most of their time together — thinking they didn’t have much of it left. They marked the end of his radiation treatments with a trip to North Carolina on his 29th birthday.
“I remember taking a picture of that cake, thinking that this will probably be his last birthday,” said Melissa. After the initial diagnosis, he underwent a major surgery to remove the tumor and the doctors believed they successfully removed all of it.
Following the surgery, he underwent chemotherapy.
There was a recurrence, and he required another surgery to remove a portion of the recurrent tumor. To address the remaining tumor, he underwent gamma knife treatment, a form of radiation therapy and continued with several years of chemotherapy.
But as he persisted, he was also prepared to die — and decided to live life to the fullest,
by living simply. Bienvenu also traded his comfortable desk job as a vice president for a development company for a job outdoors as a landscaper, embracing the joy of being outside and close to nature.
“We were living a bucket list life,” said Leslie. “And our bucket list didn’t look like skydiving or taking a European backpacking trip or scuba diving. We planted a garden, and we bred chickens.”
Over the years, more than three dozen scans have shown no cancer.
But Bienvenu and his family remain humble and grounded, living with the knowledge
that life can change in an instant. Bienvenu’s incredible journey has become a source of inspiration for many, including his brother James, who uses the story in his practice to offer hope to patients facing difficult diagnoses.
Also the Bienvenu family knows how fortunate they are to be among the 5% of people
with glioblastoma who survive for five years or more. Today, Bienvenu’s purpose remains steadfast: to show others that love triumphs above all else. “I think my purpose is to show others that Love is above all else,” he said.
After the initial surgery, where doctors felt, they had managed to remove the tumor in its entirety, Bienvenu received several sessions of chemotherapy. His battle with glioblastoma was not without some setbacks: the cancer returned and with it another visit to the operating room to remove a part of the tumor that had returned.
To remove the rest of the glioblastoma that the second operation did not remove, Bienvenu received a type of radiation therapy called a “Gamma Knife,” which involves applying beams of gamma rays with very powerful doses of radiation to a small area,
in this case the brain, without doctors having to make an incision. That treatment was followed by years of chemotherapy and radical changes in his life and that of his family.
Enjoy every minute as if it were your last
After six years and many studies, there are no signs that evil has returned.
Bienvenu’s story has become a source of inspiration for many, especially since
only 5% of people who suffer from a glioblastoma survive five years or more.
John explained, live life fully and simply.
More than 30 scans throughout the years have revealed no evidence of malignancy. However, Bienvenu and his family continue to be modest and grounded, aware that anything might happen at any time.
Many people have found inspiration in Bienvenu’s extraordinary journey, including his brother James, who uses it in his medical practice to give patients who are dealing with challenging diagnosis hope.
The Bienvenu family is aware of how lucky they are to be one of the 5% of glioblastoma patients who live for five years or more. John states, “In 2017, I was diagnosed with grade 4 Glioblastoma Multiforme, an aggressive and incurable form of brain cancer.
After my first craniotomy, I began radiation and chemotherapy treatment at MD Anderson. Months later, I had a recurrence and underwent my second craniotomy,
had Gamma Knife radiation brain surgery and began two additional chemotherapies.
I have been cancer-free ever since. God has blessed me with more days on this
earth than doctors could guarantee. Home Page – Chemocare.com
Bienvenu’s mission is still the same today:
to demonstrate to others that loving life wins above all other factors.
I also owe my life to the people whose lives are dedicated to cancer
treatment & research.” https://www.facebook.com/john.bienvenu
