Tumor

A testicular tumor removed from Denver Nuggets forward Nene was malignant. The team said yesterday the tumor was discovered early, and tests showed the cancer was isolated. "The recovery rate is extremely high," the Nuggets said in a written statement. "In addition, the odds of a recurrence are very small. " The Brazilian player underwent surgery Jan. 14 to remove the tumor. The team said he was doing well, but there was no timetable for his return. Nene's Web site had posted a statement last week saying the tumor was benign, but that announcement later was removed.

After a career full of miraculous shots - including one from a parking lot during his first British Open win - Seve Ballesteros was preparing for the "hardest challenge" of his life yesterday after announcing he has a brain tumor. The 51-year-old Ballesteros was set to undergo a biopsy tomorrow before doctors determine how to proceed. "Throughout my career I have been among the best at overcoming challenges on the golf course," the five-time major winner said in a statement released by Madrid's La Paz hospital.

New York Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi has been diagnosed with a benign tumor, but is expected to return to the team later this season after treatment. The Yankees announced last night that Giambi was placed on the 15-day disabled list and will be treated immediately. The team, citing privacy issues, declined to divulge where the tumor is or what type of treatment Giambi will have. Yankees manager Joe Torre said he didn't believe surgery would be necessary. General manager Brian Cashman said: "I think the next few days, he'll be treated and we'll see how he's feeling.

CARACAS, Venezuela - Nearly two weeks after announcing he has cancer, President Hugo Chavez on Wednesday described a baseball-size tumor that was removed in surgery and a prognosis that includes chemotherapy or radiation treatment. Chavez provided his most extensive account to date of his illness, suggesting that difficult months may lie ahead as he anticipates physically taxing treatments while also remaining in the presidency. It was the first time he has referred to expecting chemotherapy or radiation treatment after the June 20 surgery in Cuba.

Timothy Michael Kaisinger, 25, whose childhood battle with a brain tumor touched many people and fed public-policy debate, died Monday of respiratory complications from the disease he had fought since 1988. Mr. Kaisinger, formerly of the Bridesburg section of Philadelphia, lived in Turnersville. "He was a warrior," said his father, Timothy J. Kaisinger, who saw his son baffle medical experts with his resiliency. By 1989, doctors had all but surrendered Mr. Kaisinger to the ravages of a huge tumor in his brain.

With one word, Dr. David Andrews put a number of minds at ease. Benign. That was the diagnosis following brain surgery yesterday on Phillies third-base coach John Vukovich. Andrews, a neurosurgeon at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, performed the 90-minute surgery, removing part of a 4-centimeter, low-grade tumor that was discovered over the weekend. This type of tumor, the cause of which is unknown, will continue to grow, but with periodic MRI exams, doctors will be able to monitor its growth and treat it accordingly.

In his first TV chat since being treated for throat cancer, Michael Douglas says he's "relieved" that the tumor that plagued him for months has disappeared. "I feel good, relieved. The tumor is gone," Douglas tells Matt Lauer in a chat set to air Tuesday on Today . "But, you know, I have to check out on a monthly basis now to maintain. I guess there's not a total euphoria. " Catherine Zeta-Jones ' hub adds, "It's been a wild six-month ride. " Douglas' treatment hasn't all been fun and games: There are side effects.

SYRACUSE, N.Y. - Doctors have told former Syracuse University punter Rob Long that all signs of a brain tumor have disappeared. An MRI of Long's brain taken Friday at Kimmel Cancer Center in Philadelphia showed no more signs of the tumor that was discovered in December. Long, a co-captain and 4-year starter for the Orange, was diagnosed in early December with a large tumor. Originally thought to be benign, doctors found malignant cells, and Long moved back home to Downingtown, where he had attended Downingtown West High.

Seve Ballesteros was in stable condition yesterday after the 51-year-old golf great had surgery on a brain tumor a day earlier. La Paz Hospital said were no complications from the surgery. Spanish state news agency Efe reported the operation lasted 12 hours. The hospital said a sizable part of the Spaniard's tumor was removed. It was not immediately known if it was malignant and it would be several days before the results were announced. "At the moment he is conscious and stable, although he will not be able to receive any visitors in the coming days until he has recovered from the surgical process," the hospital said in a statement.

Former Phillies great Tug McGraw was discharged from a Tampa hospital yesterday morning, three days after surgery to remove a brain tumor. Citing the McGraw family's request for privacy, the Moffitt Cancer Center would not release results of pathology tests on the tumor. However, a person close to the situation confirmed that cancerous cells were found in the tumor, and two other people close to McGraw said he will remain in the Tampa Bay area and begin undergoing outpatient radiation treatments soon.

A new genetic test to gauge the aggressiveness of prostate cancer may help tens of thousands of men each year decide whether they need to treat their cancer right away or can safely monitor it. The new test, which goes on sale Wednesday, joins another one that recently came on the market. Both analyze multiple genes in a biopsy sample and give a score for aggressiveness, similar to tests used now for certain breast and colon cancers. Doctors say tests like these have the potential to curb a major problem in cancer care - overtreatment.

While preparing to remove a malignant tumor from the Rev. Michael Prewitt's brain, neurosurgeon Steven Brem of the University of Pennsylvania worried that the surgery could affect his patient's ability to speak or move. As surgeons have for decades, he studied an MRI that showed the tumor in Prewitt's left parietal lobe. But he also examined a type of scan you've probably never heard of: diffusion tensor imaging. It shows bundles of the fibers that transmit messages from parts of the brain to one another and the brain stem.

SANDRA STEWART of Mayfair was shocked when her daughter, Corin, who had just celebrated her fifth birthday, awoke on Martin Luther King Day, Jan. 20, 2009, with a protruding left eye. Stewart took Corin to a pediatric eye specialist at Holy Redeemer Hospital. "He tells me right away that there's a tumor behind her left eye and it could be cancer," Stewart said. After a CAT scan at St. Christopher's Hospital for Children and a biopsy at Wills Eye Institute, Stewart said: "The doctors told us it was malignant.

WILMINGTON - The autopsy of a Texas man who killed his former daughter-in-law and another woman at a Delaware courthouse shows he had a brain tumor. The autopsy report of Thomas Matusiewicz, 68, says a large tumor known as a meningioma was found. Authorities say Matusiewicz killed himself after the courthouse shooting Feb. 11. His widow, Lenore, had sought an independent autopsy, saying she believed an untreated brain tumor was to blame for her husband's violent actions. Matusiewicz was cremated shortly after the state released his body.

WILMINGTON - The autopsy report for a Texas man who killed his former daughter-in-law and another woman at a Delaware courthouse shows he had a brain tumor. The report notes a large tumor known as a meningioma was found during the autopsy. Authorities say Thomas Matusiewicz, 68, killed himself after the courthouse shooting Feb. 11. The gunman's widow, Lenore Matusiewicz, had sought an independent autopsy saying she believed an untreated brain tumor was to blame for her husband's violent actions.

It happened so fast. In February 2011, Joan Brown seemed to be in perfect health. In March, she began feeling tired and listless. In April, an ultrasound of her abdomen found a tumor on an ovary. In May, she had surgery to remove both ovaries as well as her uterus. "They got out everything possible," says her husband, Dave. "All that was left were microscopic traces. " Joan's doctor at Lankenau Medical Center had warned her that her form of ovarian cancer was aggressive. He was right.

Orlando R. Barone is a freelance writer in Doylestown I bent down, close to my wife's ear as she lay motionless in the hospital bed. It was her second day out from the surgery that removed a devastating BB-sized tumor from her pituitary gland. "Maida, Maida, I have a question to ask you," I whispered as her eyes fluttered ever so slightly. "Yes?" Her mouth formed the word. I paused, then decided to ask the question. "What is my Apple ID Password?" The query was greeted with amazed disapproval from my four adult children.

CARACAS, Venezuela - Information Minister Ernesto Villegas warned Venezuelans on Wednesday that President Hugo Chavez might not be well enough after his fourth cancer-related surgery in Cuba to be inaugurated Jan. 10. Moving to prepare the public for the possibility of more bad news, Vice President Nicolas Maduro looked grim earlier in the day when he acknowledged that Chavez faced a "complex and hard" process after his latest surgery. At the same time, the officials strove to show a united front amid the growing worries about Chavez's health and the country's future.

It's a medical nightmare: A 24-year-old man endures 350 surgeries since childhood to remove growths that keep coming back in his throat and have spread to his lungs, threatening his life. Now doctors have found a way to help him by way of a scientific coup that holds promise for millions of cancer patients. The bizarre case is the first use in a patient of a new discovery: how to keep ordinary and cancerous cells alive indefinitely in the lab. The discovery lets doctors grow "mini tumors" from each patient's cancer in a lab dish, then test various drugs or combinations to see which works best.

Avalanna Routh, 6, whose love for Justin Bieber encouraged a Boston hospital to organize a pretend wedding to the pop star as she battled a rare brain cancer, has died. Her family said on their Twitter account that Avalanna - she called herself Mrs. Bieber - died Wednesday morning at her Merrimac home. During the pretend wedding, Avalanna wore a T-shirt that said "Future Mrs. Bieber" and stood next to his portrait under a banner that declared them "Just Married. " That sparked a social-media campaign to help her meet the singer.