Tim's Story
Eight years after his benign brain tumor was removed, Tim M. discovered it returned. We created a digital map of his brain to aid in tumor removal and successful recovery.
When Bridgewater resident Tim M., 52, experienced a terrible headache in May 2014, it was an all too familiar feeling. He remarked to his wife, “The last time I had a headache like this was when I had the brain tumor.”
In 1996, Tim was diagnosed with a noncancerous tumor of the brain known as a meningioma. Doctors used traditional surgical techniques to remove it, and although Tim carefully monitored his health in the years that followed, it seemed his tumor had possibly returned.
A subsequent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan confirmed what he and his wife feared. Tim had a brain tumor that was as about as large as a grapefruit.
They go above and beyond and literally give you as much time as you need to make you feel comfortable.
He was referred to neurosurgeon Yaron Moshel, MD, co-director of the Gerald J. Glasser Brain Tumor Center of New Jersey at Overlook Medical Center’s Atlantic Neuroscience Institute, who recommended surgically removing as much of the tumor as possible, followed by CyberKnife treatment.
To increase the chance of success, the surgical team used an angiogram to create a “road map” of Tim’s brain prior to the surgery. Within just five days of the operation, Tim was out of the hospital and after completing rehabilitation, was able to resume his job at Merck.
He later underwent CyberKnife treatment with such minimal fatigue that he was able to work during four of the five days of therapy.
Today, Tim is feeling fine and sharing his experiences with other Merck employees who need help coping with medical situations. In doing so, he credits his good health to the neurosurgeons and CyberKnife team at Overlook Medical Center.
"The staff, including the surgeons, are unbelievably compassionate. They go above and beyond and literally give you as much time as you need to make you feel comfortable," says Tim. “The whole experience was priceless, well beyond all our expectations.”