Roswell Park’s Elevate Salon has also helped Aretha stay positive, specifically about the hair loss that comes with brain surgery and Gamma Knife radiosurgery. Learn more Carrying forward the self-care message “At Elevate Salon, we provide a respite for patients where they can feel comfortable and understood in an uplifting environment.” Visit us on the first floor of the Clinical Sciences Center, next to the Breast Oncology Center. “I just live my life day by day,” she says, adding that she’s grateful for a good support system which, in addition to husband Keith, includes their son and 12 grandchildren ranging in age from 19 to three. But while her mobility is limited - she uses a cane - her spirit remains, well, Brooklyn-tough and Buffalo strong. Multiple surgeries and treatments have caused Aretha’s left foot to drop when she walks, and the toes on the right foot are almost completely paralyzed. If there is any new development, the doctors at Roswell Park are hands-on and they care.” Fabiano once a year to keep an eye on them and make sure there’s no new growth. Plunkett, MD, her meningiomas are now monitored by Roswell Park neurosurgeon Andrew Fabiano, MD. After two Gamma Knife treatments under the care of Roswell Park neurosurgeon Robert J. “My care here at Roswell Park has been a very good experience,” says Aretha. Roswell Park is the only Western New York center equipped with Gamma Knife radiosurgery ability and its board-certified surgeons are trained to perform both traditional “open” surgery and Gamma Knife radiosurgery.

This outpatient procedure is delivered in a single day without incisions or anesthesia. It destroys brain tumors by zapping them with 192 intersecting gamma rays in a procedure that is more precise than any scalpel. Despite its name, Gamma Knife does “cut” nor make any incisions. She had her first brain surgery in 2010 and, after a second emergency surgery, was referred to Roswell Park to have more tumors removed by Gamma Knife radiosurgery. Gamma Knife radiosurgery brought her to Roswell Park “But we’re just learning about this through me because I was the first one to go through treatment,” she adds. When asked if meningiomas have affected other members of her family, Aretha says she believes that an uncle and cousin passed away from the same condition. “I’m prone to having seizures, but I haven’t had them lately.” “I have seven tumors still left,” she says. Symptoms may include changes in vision, headaches, hearing loss, memory loss and seizures.

Meningiomas are growths that, in most cases, are not cancerous and arise from the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. I got admitted to the hospital and they had to do emergency surgery. “They did an MRI and found out I had meningiomas. When things got worse, however, she was rushed to a hospital. She first noticed she was having difficulty walking more than 10 years ago but chalked it up then to overwork. I had a stroke and then I had a seizure,” she says. Aretha is both Brooklyn tough and Buffalo strong – and Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center has helped her to sustain that double-tap strength and tenacity. She came to Buffalo more than 30 years ago for reasons of family, and she and husband Keith, a native Buffalonian, have been married more than 26 years. At age 50, she looks many years younger and exudes a quiet, Zen-like energy, even though she navigates everyday life with a cluster of noncancerous brain tumors.

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