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Brain Tumor

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NJ Dad Raps Eminem Through Brain Tumor Removal (VIDEO, PHOTOS) NJ Dad Raps Eminem Through Brain Tumor Removal (VIDEO, PHOTOS)
NJ Dad Raps Eminem Through Brain Tumor Removal (Video, Photos) From rapping to Eminem to singing the soundtrack to "Frozen," a 33-year-old father from Jackson thrived through brain surgery. Kyle Graham began experiencing headaches last August, but he just thought he was exhausted. Then, the dad of two suffered a seizure.  A trip to the Hackensack Meridian Jersey Shore University Medical Center emergency room found a brain tumor was causing his headaches and seizures.  The news floored him.  "It turned my world upside down," Graham said. "I couldn't believe it. It was a shock at first. Then, I think once we really took it in, that's wh…

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by Jon Craig
Obituaries
NY Jets Brought Montclair Boy Joy Before He Died: 'They Already Won In My Eyes' NY Jets Brought Montclair Boy Joy Before He Died: 'They Already Won In My Eyes'
NY Jets Brought Montclair Boy Joy Before He Died: 'They Already Won In My Eyes' In 11 months, Braylon Hodgson’s body crumbled. Mentally, he was the same 13-year-old boy: Happiest holding a lacrosse stick and surrounded by his friends.  Physically, he couldn’t move. Braylon’s body was stiff. He needed a walker to get around and was losing the ability to talk. His parents, Kasey and Ryan, felt helpless, and wished they could do something for his pain. But Braylon only apologized to them. “I’m sorry,” he’d say.  Sorry that they had to see him in pain. Sorry that they couldn't do anything about it. The Montclair middle schooler had no choice but to get used to the pai…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Teacher Sings Through Brain Surgery At Jersey Shore Medical Center (VIDEO) Teacher Sings Through Brain Surgery At Jersey Shore Medical Center (VIDEO)
Teacher Sings Through Brain Surgery At Jersey Shore Medical Center (Video) Krystina Vied started with some Neil Diamond and ended with the "Moana" soundtrack. No, this wasn't a karaoke bar. This was brain surgery. Vied, a 30-year-old preschool teacher from Keansburg, was diagnosed with epilepsy years ago, but was having breakthrough seizures despite being on anti-seizure medication. An MRI found Vied had a brain tumor, and she was referred to Hackensack Meridian Neuroscience Institute at Jersey Shore University Medical Center neuro-oncologist, Shama Farooq, M.D., and Nitesh V Patel, M.D., Co-Director of Neurosurgical Oncology.  Patel, a Jersey City native who c…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Bergen County Dad's Aggressive Brain Cancer Started As Confusion, Pounding Headache Bergen County Dad's Aggressive Brain Cancer Started As Confusion, Pounding Headache
Bergen County Dad's Aggressive Brain Cancer Started As Confusion, Pounding Headache One day, Richie Nelson was enjoying summer with his wife and young boys.  The next, he was being airlifted to a hospital where he'd undergo emergency brain surgery, to remove the tumor that had been causing confusion and a massive headache for weeks. The 39-year-old dad from Norwood has been diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of brain cancer that has turned his life upside-down. Much of the future is unknown for Nelson and his family, which is why his wife, Jenny Bertolini, says these days, they're focused on the here and now. "We don't know what tomorrow brings," said Bertolin…

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by Cecilia Levine
Obituaries
Morris County Native, ‘Incredible Light’ Dies After Battle With Brain Tumor, 33 Morris County Native, ‘Incredible Light’ Dies After Battle With Brain Tumor, 33
Morris County Native, ‘Incredible Light’ Dies After Battle With Brain Tumor, 33 Morris County native Brian J. Dodgson died at Overlook Medical Center on Thursday, May 12 after battling a brain tumor. He was 33. Born in Denville, Brian grew up in Madison, his obituary says. Brian worked as a dedicated dog walker for Wonder Dog in Summit. He was remembered as a craft beer fan and fierce music lover. Meanwhile, more than $4,500 had been raised on GoFundMe for the creation of a scholarship in Brian’s honor at the County College of Morris. “We lost an incredible light the other day,” reads the fundraiser, launched by Caitlin Duffy. “Brian ‘Pork’ Dodgson was the best of u…

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by Valerie Musson
News
Community Rallies Around Jersey City Pet Sitter Battling Cancer Community Rallies Around Jersey City Pet Sitter Battling Cancer
Community Rallies Around Jersey City Pet Sitter Battling Cancer Community support is surging for John Amato, owner of Doggie's Playmate Pet Sitting after a recent cancer diagnosis. Amato, of Jersey City, also suffered a stroke and has a brain tumor, he said. Vanessa and Liz Freedman organized this GoFundMe page on behalf of Amato. "Any and all donations that you can make to help this man who spends all of his time taking care of others would be so very appreciated... John is immensely grateful and humbled by anyone who is generous enough to help him. Your love, prayers, and positive energy mean the world to him." Amato included a video on the page say…

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by Jon Craig
News
'Unthinkable Situation': NJ Mom Suffers Severe Stroke After Son Is Born With Brain Tumor 'Unthinkable Situation': NJ Mom Suffers Severe Stroke After Son Is Born With Brain Tumor
'Unthinkable Situation': NJ Mom Suffers Severe Stroke After Son Is Born With Brain Tumor It’s a situation almost impossible to fathom: A New Jersey mom suffers a severe stroke less than a month after her son is born with a brain tumor. The holiday season for the Niessen family of Warren County has begun with two ongoing battles. Tanya Niessen suffered her stroke in May. In August, she and her husband, Tom, learned that their son Bradan had a medulloblastoma. Bradan has been in and out of the pediatric intensive care unit with various complications as he undergoes chemotherapy at Goryeb Children’s Hospital in Morristown following brain surgery. Tanya, meanwhile, had a cran…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Beloved Saddle Brook Woman Who Survived Brain Tumor, 23, Killed In Crash Beloved Saddle Brook Woman Who Survived Brain Tumor, 23, Killed In Crash
Beloved Saddle Brook Woman Who Survived Brain Tumor, 23, Killed In Crash She was a blessing to many, a remarkable woman who'd survived a brain tumor with deep faith and abiding humor. Then, in a devastating instant, she was gone. Shock mixed with heart-rending grief continued to spread Tuesday with the news that 23-year-old McKenna Winnie of Saddle Brook had been killed in a traffic accident in South Jersey. The Rutgers University research assistant was headed east on Route 619 in Upper Pittsgrove Township (Salem County) late Monday morning when her car collided with a tractor-trailer heading south at the intersection of Route 77, according to New Jersey State P…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
NJ Mom Faces Long Road To Recovery After Brain Tumor Removal NJ Mom Faces Long Road To Recovery After Brain Tumor Removal
NJ Mom Faces Long Road To Recovery After Brain Tumor Removal Stephanie Cole was getting ready to start as a student in an ultrasound program in 2018 when she began suffering from headaches and dizziness. Doctors found a small, non-cancerous tumor, Acoustic Neuroma, and gave her two options: Watch and wait, or go under the knife. Cole, now 36, of Forked River, decided to watch and wait. The mom of three powered through her symptoms up until graduation. But by the time Cole landed her dream job in April 2021, her tumor had tripled in size. Cole under went surgery to have it removed last month and is readjusting to a new normal. While a GoFundMe pag…

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by Cecilia Levine
News
Community Rallies For Injured North Bergen Police Officer As Fiancé Battles Brain Tumor Community Rallies For Injured North Bergen Police Officer As Fiancé Battles Brain Tumor
Community Rallies For Injured North Bergen Police Officer As Fiancé Battles Brain Tumor The migraines, seizures and dizziness Isabel Cucalon thought were symptoms of stress turned out to be something much worse: A brain tumor. The Ridgefield Park mom has had three surgeries this year to correct damage endured during the birth of her second child with fiancé Nelson Roman, since early 2021. Isabel Cucalon and Nelson Roman with their kids.GoFundMe photo Meanwhile, Roman injured his shoulder while on duty as a police officer in North Bergen. So when doctors told Cucalon that what she was experiencing was simply from stress, she believed it. But last month, when she was refer…

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by Cecilia Levine
Lifestyle
Doctors On Netflix Show 'Lenox Hill' Rid NJ Grandmother, 89, Of Massive Head Tumor Doctors On Netflix Show 'Lenox Hill' Rid NJ Grandmother, 89, Of Massive Head Tumor
Doctors On Netflix Show 'Lenox Hill' Rid NJ Grandmother, 89, Of Massive Head Tumor For 25 years, Lorenza De La Villa of Teaneck barely noticed the small tumor in the back of her head. She found it in 1995, when she was 64 years old.  It was benign. It didn't hurt. It never grew. "She did what doctors told her to do," said one of De La Villa's 22 grandchildren, Michelle Tavares, of Weehawken. "She went for MRIs every year and saw a neurologist every six months. "Since it wasn't growing, causing pain or neurological impairment, doctors didn't have her do anything about it." For 25 years, that's the way things were. De La Villa's "little egg" rarely crossed her …

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by Cecilia Levine