"Bring A Sense Of Humor and Some Alcohol’: Brave Mom Takes On Brain Cancer, Round 2"- Shari Puterman
On September 2, Jennifer Keenan Giliberto, 43, threw a massive party at her house. Three days later, Jennifer traveled from her Atlanta home to New York City. On Friday, September 14, she is having major surgery - a craniotomy - to remove a tumor. Ten years ago, Jennifer was diagnosed with a brain cancer called grade 2 astrocytoma. Because these tumors were known to recur, she had regular MRIs to make sure things were stable. Jennifer raves about her surgeon, with whom she’s developed a wonderful relationship over the years. Constantinos Hadjipanayis, MD, PhD, site chair of neurosurgery at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and professor of neurosurgery and oncological sciences at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, feels equally as grateful to be working with Jennifer – and considers her an incredible patient advocate, colleague and friend. “She has just been one of the greatest patient advocates I have ever worked with,” he says. “She has gone so far to bring awareness, and on top of it, she’s a busy mom of three, very active, her husband is a great guy … Jennifer even went so far as to come to the FDA with her son, to testify on the need for new brain cancer treatment. I can’t say enough positive things about her.”
- Constantinos Hadjipanayis, MD, PhD, Site Chair, Neurosurgery, Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Professor, Neurosurgery, Oncological Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai