Mark Ruffalo: Oscar-nominated actor, Dad and, oh yea, Brain Tumor Survivor

You may know him as the HULK, but I just learned something about him that’s a bit more important – he’s a brain tumor survivor. I got this from Men’s Journal magazine in an article written by Josh Eells (yes, is looks like a pseudonym, but it isn’t).

Here’s a telling paragraph from his article: “Ruffalo was diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma, a walnut-size tumor behind his left ear. He first suspected he had one after he had a dream about having a brain tumor, and when he went in for a CT scan, the doctors told him he was right. They said they could operate, but there was a 30 percent chance he might lose the use of the left side of his face. To complicate things even further, Sunrise was about to give birth to their first child, Keen, and Ruffalo didn't want to stress her out.”

Here’s a link to the full story: http://www.mensjournal.com/magazine/mark-ruffalos-good-life-formula-3-kids-1-rabbit-47-acres-2-764-miles-from-hollywood-20130509?page=3

Another Celebrity Brain Tumor Victim

Olivia Newton-John has announced on her facebook page that, "My beautiful sister Rona sadly passed on May 24th in Los Angeles. It was May 25th in Australia - which was our mother Irene's birthday. Rona died of a very aggressive brain tumor and mercifully suffered no pain."

See: https://www.facebook.com/olivianewtonjohn

Latest brain tumor celebrity: Cardinals analyst and talk-show host Chris Duncan

According to the St. Louis Post Dispatch, Cardinals analyst and talk-show host Chris Duncan was back on the air, albeit briefly, Monday, and said "a tumor in my head'' is what had kept him off the WXOS airwaves for three weeks. "I had it removed and I'm doing well now,'' he said in a brief appearance on 101.1 FM's afternoon drive-time show, a program for which he normally is a co-host.

Duncan went to Duke University's medical facility to have the operation performed.

"I feel really lucky I got a chance to go down there and have the surgery and get the tumor removed,'' he said. "I feel great right now. Hopefully I can come back as soon as possible and rejoin you guys.''

He works with Randy Karraker and D'Marco Farr, and the program is the highest-rated local sports-talk show in the St. Louis market. And Duncan, a former outfielder who won a World Series ring with the Cardinals in 2006, is on the comeback path.

Here’s a link to the article: http://www.stltoday.com/sports/baseball/professional/ceeb3f89-5b47-590d-8519-3afc1f654fd4.html

My favorite book blending pro baseball and a brain tumor is, of course, Liz Holzemer’s  memoir entitled Curveball: When Life Throws You a Brain Tumor - http://www.amazon.com/Curveball-When-Throws-Brain-Tumor/dp/0978945670