To say Wade Lewis has energy is an understatement. When glioblastoma led to his early retirement, he put all his energy into helping others affected by the same diagnosis. It also led to an interesting journey to help those in Africa.
Married to the love of his life Miranda; they share three beautiful children who have just as much energy as he.
After his life changing diagnosis, Wade forged a bond with his neuro-oncologist, Dr. Ekokobe Fonkem, who at the time was with the Barrow Neurological Institute. Together they are making a documentary (The Story So Far by DVS Studios) as part of a fundraising campaign to build a brain tumor registry in Africa. By documenting details about GBM in Africa — including the number of cases, geographical differences in treatment and who is diagnosed — they hope to help healthcare professionals learn more about the disease and its impact on the continent.
During the course of getting to know Wade, what I found was a connection to someone else who shares the same beliefs in the “power of positivity” and a deep faith in God. For Wade, doing this work fulfills a long-held dream of serving others through ministry. His outlook on his diagnosis and why he is meant to walk this path is a show of his strength and resilience. Something he exudes during our interview.
“I was blessed to be in this position where I have time to do this and use the connections I have. I feel like I’m prepared for this part of my journey.”
IMPORTANT NOTE: During our interview, Wade and I discussed the drug Mebendazole. Mebendazole can penetrate the blood-brain barrier and has been shown to inhibit the malignant progression of glioma by targeting signaling pathways related to cell proliferation, apoptosis, or invasion/migration, or by increasing the sensitivity of glioma cells to conventional chemotherapy or radiotherapy. Please see link in Article section below for further information about this drug.
You can donate and help Wade and Dr. Fonkem by visiting A Better Place Foundation
**Barrow Neurological Institute is partnered with the Ivy Brain Tumor Center/Ivy Brain Tumor Foundation. Learn more.
**You can learn more about our sponsors on our “About” page.
Season 3 Premier Sponsors:
Episode Sponsor:
Resources from SEASON 3 Ep. 3:
Articles/blogs:
CURE Today Journal- New Brain Cancer Drug to be Studied in Two Clinical Trials,
National Library of Medicine- Emerging Perspectives on the Antiparasitic Mebendazole as a Repurposed Drug for the Treatment of Brain Cancers,
Oxford University Press- Mebendazole and temozolomide in patients with newly diagnosed high-grade gliomas,
Cancer Network- Information on the ROADS Clinical Trial for Newly Diagnosed Metastatic Brain Tumors and how to get involved,
UCLA Health- A metabolic process in cancer cells could unlock a possible treatment for glioblastoma,
Yale News- New treatment merges two technologies to fight brain cancer,
Clinical Trials:
CURRENTLY RECRUITING! Imvax Inc. IGV-001- Phase 2b Clinical Trial Combination Immunotherapy in Newly Diagnosed Patients With Glioblastoma,
CURRENTLY RECRUITING! Hillman Cancer Center- Olaparib in Treating Patients With Advanced Glioma, Cholangiocarcinoma, or Solid Tumors With IDH1 or IDH2 Mutations,
CURRENTLY RECRUITING! Roswell Cancer Center- SurVaxM Vaccine-Brain Cancer Immunotherapy,
CURRENTLY RECRUITING! Ivy Brain Tumor Center- INFIGRATINIB IN RECURRENT GLIOBLASTOMA PATIENTS (phase 0 trial),
CURRENTLY RECRUITING! Ivy Brain Tumor Center- Phase 0 Clinical Trial for Recurrent Glioblastoma,
CURRENTLY RECRUITING! Lenox Hill/Northwell Health- Tissue autograft to bypass the blood brain barrier (BBB) in human glioblastoma multiforme,
CURRENTLY RECRUITING! BSW Health- Treatment of Recurrent GBM With APG-157 Via Expanded Access,
CURRENTLY RECRUITING! MD Anderson Cancer Center (includes GammaTile Therapy)- Phase 3 Clinical Trial for Newly Diagnosed Metastatic Brain tumors
OPEN STUDY-NOT RECRUITING! Oblato Inc. Multiple locations- Open-label Study Investigating of OKN-007 Combined With Temozolomide in Patients With Recurrent Glioblastoma
Videos:
The Story So Far Documentary Trailer (provided by DVS Studio.**Music Credit: Dark Grey by Youth Fountain):
The work of The Game On Glio Podcast (at UBNS/GVI):
For our grief blog, visit here. For more resources, visit our resource page here.
Hosted by Shannon Traphagen 
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