September 18, 1998 

Zenar Ambrozik recently left the MGH with the best news he had heard in a long time – the malignant brain tumor that had been lodged in the left side of his brain was gone. After eight months of treatment at the MGH Brain Tumor Center, the 81-year-old retiree could resume his life in Wakefield, play golf weekly at the local country club and spend time with his grandchildren.

Ambrozik was referred to the MGH in January from the Melrose-Wakefield Hospital, where physicians detected the brain tumor. This wasn't his first time at the MGH, however. Three years ago, Ambrozik had been treated at the hospital for a lymphoma in his groin area.

   

MRI scan (left) of Zenar Ambrozik's brain
shows a tumor in the right frontal lobe.
The current scan (right) indicates that his
tumor has disappeared.

Taken immediately to the MGH Brain Tumor Center, Ambrozik was examined by Tracy Batchelor, MD, director of MGH Neuromedical Oncology, who arranged for the tumor to be biopsied. The results showed that the tumor was a lymphoma, similar to the kind Ambrozik had before, and one that often can be treated with chemotherapy without radiation or surgery. Pioneered by Fred Hochberg, MD, neurooncologist in the MGH Brain Tumor Center, this chemotherapy program is the subject of a national study chaired by Batchelor.

Returning to the same rigorous routine of chemotherapy he experienced three years ago, Ambrozik was brought to and from the hospital by his daughter and her family. "Thank God for my daughter," says Ambrozik. "She and my two grandchildren have kept me going through all of this."

Along with the support of his family, Ambrozik credits his health care team for making his hospital stay much easier. "I was amazed at the staff who were always so pleasant and cooperative," says Ambrozik. "They all have tough jobs, but they always were very understanding of what I was going through."

In only three months – way ahead of schedule – Ambrozik's tumor shrank from the size of a tangerine to that of an olive. "Mr. Ambrozik's type of brain tumor is uniquely sensitive to chemotherapy, with a complete remission occurring 75 percent of the time," says Batchelor. "It was rewarding to see him respond so well to the chemotherapy and return to many of the activities he enjoys."

Ambrozik says that Batchelor's optimism about his treatment "made me feel confident about my care."

Ambrozik is one of the approximately 300 newly diagnosed patients who are treated at the MGH Brain Tumor Center each year. More than 2,000 people already have visited the center as outpatients in 1998. The center is a multidisciplinary collaboration between the MGH Neurosurgery, Neurology, Neuropathology, Neuroradiology and Radiation Oncology groups. The Brain Tumor Center is the second largest disease center in the MGH Cancer Center. In addition to patient care, the Brain Tumor Center has an active research program in experimental therapies.

"Mr. Ambrozik's story illustrates two of the center's primary goals – to provide the highest quality patient care and to develop new treatments for brain tumors," says John Henson, MD, executive director of the MGH Brain Tumor Center. "With the collaboration of a team of specialists, Dr. Batchelor was able to make a quick diagnosis and ensure the best course of treatment."

After eight months of chemotherapy treatment, Ambrozik finally heard the news he was waiting for – the tumor was completely gone. "After the first lymphoma, I felt like I was living on borrowed time," says Ambrozik. "I've been very fortunate that I have another chance."