![]() “So do not fear, for I am with you do not be dismayed, for I am your God. ![]() Natalie has a favorite Bible verse right now, Isaiah 41:10. She was even back taking Body Pump with staples still in her head! While our fight is still going on, our God is bigger and stronger than our circumstances. Natalie has been an amazing inspiration to those around her, including me. We are in the midst of monitoring the tumor every three months. Natalie finished her chemo in February of 2012 after no change for several months. We did six weeks of radiation and chemo, and once we finished that round, Dr. We also found an absolutely amazing Neuro-Oncologist at Baylor Hospital in Dallas, Dr. Jerry Barker, Jr., at Texas Oncology in Fort Worth. Her surgeon was able to get 30% of the tumor out during her surgery, and we scheduled radiation with Dr. Several scans confirmed her diagnosis:īRAIN CANCER (Oligoastrocytoma to be exact) ![]() The hospital had no doctor on staff that could help her, so they transferred her to The Plaza Medical Center in Fort Worth where they have a Neuro-ICU. She had one more seizure in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. She stopped breathing, and I had to perform CPR as I was on the phone with 9-1-1, and luckily they showed up within five minutes. I thought Natalie was just having a bad dream, but when I realized she was unresponsive, I turned on the light to find her in the middle of a seizure. She teaches Body Pump at a gym in town, she takes Cross Fit, and after years of battling weight loss, she was at her fittest the night of May 31st, 2011, having lost nearly 100 pounds! But that night everything would change.Īt 1:30 AM on June 1st, I was awakened by kicking and some weird noises. She is a loving wife, an incredible mother, and a great friend! She is also an awesome fitness and nutrition advocate, giving advice to numerous friends and family – and to anyone who will listen! We have been married for 13 years as of January 6th, 2014, and have two kids: Kirstyn (10) and James (6). The potential benefit of this is very exciting.When I think of the word ‘strong,’ the first person I think of is Natalie Dickey – my beautiful wife. This trial uses a mouse leukemia virus to insert a gene into the residual tumor cells, making them susceptible to a non-chemotherapy pill the patient takes later. Fink has also re-opened the TOCAGEN trial for GBM patients with recurrent tumors that can be re-sected. Fink expects this study to be published in Lancet in the near future which is very exciting to all at Baylor. She is also involved with two big studies that are being published in JAMA (December 2018) about the Novocure device and long term survival AND another trial in progress for patients with recurrent tumors. She is collecting brain tumor samples and creating mouse tumors from patients’ cells looking for the genetic signature that predicts response. She is working to determine which patients are most likely to have tumors that could respond to the combination of temozolomide and arsenic trioxide. Fink’s most exciting project supported by current contributions from the Foundation is a collaboration with her molecular scientific partner, TGEN. Karen Fink, neuro-oncologist, BaylorScott & White University Medical Center, Dallas. The Foundation had another blessed year in 2019 with total research grants awarded in Nick’s memory increasing to a total of over $445,000 since inception. Funding annual research grants for glioblastoma multiform brain tumors (GBM) is one of the key goals of the Nick Gonzales Foundation.
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