Burn Brian 2019
January 18, 2019 2:36 PM   Subscribe

Burn Brian 2019: the "Queen of Shitty Robots" shares some unfortunate news (SLYT) (previously). "I don't want to be a brain tumor girl -- like, I don't want this to be my thing. I want to be badass builder girl who can build whatever she wants and does random projects and goes to space and is allowed to do headstands."

Dammit.
posted by WCityMike (29 comments total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: Poster's Request -- loup



 
Dammit.
posted by slater at 2:38 PM on January 18, 2019


God. Fucking. Dammit.
posted by rikschell at 2:42 PM on January 18, 2019 [4 favorites]


stupid tumor!
posted by drewbage1847 at 2:47 PM on January 18, 2019


:(
posted by evilDoug at 2:56 PM on January 18, 2019


Ah damn it.
posted by Frayed Knot at 2:58 PM on January 18, 2019


DIE IN A FIRE BRIAN
posted by gwint at 3:00 PM on January 18, 2019 [5 favorites]


Crap.
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:03 PM on January 18, 2019


I was very upset by this when I saw it earlier today. I hope she gets the best possible outcome here.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 3:05 PM on January 18, 2019 [2 favorites]


"I wonder what this is going to be like" is such an honest way of putting it. When I've had health scares there's always been a bit of me that was like that -- just curious about what would come next.
posted by The corpse in the library at 3:06 PM on January 18, 2019 [4 favorites]


I know a hundred and fifty thousand people die every day, but humanity is eating self alive right now and I hate that a fun person is going like this.

I'm going to my workshop to smash something with a hammer.
posted by CynicalKnight at 3:11 PM on January 18, 2019 [5 favorites]


I really admire her frank honesty about just being sad about it, and just not wanting this to be happening. That's a hard thing to admit. Very glad she has all the support & insurance & access she needs.
posted by bleep at 3:15 PM on January 18, 2019 [8 favorites]


This isn't really bad news at all. She just didn't share the full story last year, which is that she has an indolent benign tumor which was debulked but needs radiation to (hopefully) kill it. Nothing has really changed. She's a lovely person and I hope she has the best possible outcome here.
posted by killdevil at 3:17 PM on January 18, 2019 [9 favorites]


Can someone summarize for those of us who can't sit through a YT video right now?
posted by praemunire at 3:19 PM on January 18, 2019 [2 favorites]


Can someone summarize for those of us who can't sit through a YT video right now?

Simone Giertz's brain tumor wasn't completely removed with surgery last year; there were some bits of it which were deemed too high risk to take out (or perhaps they offered to remove the whole thing, but Simone didn't want to lose her sight or have other severe complications, which is understandable). The bits that are left have been growing, which was evidently expected, but have been growing faster than anticipated. So, she needs to start radiation treatments sooner than originally planned.
posted by killdevil at 3:23 PM on January 18, 2019 [22 favorites]


Thanks, killdevil. Radiation therapy to the brain can be pretty brutal. I hope she pulls through.
posted by praemunire at 3:25 PM on January 18, 2019


This isn't really bad news at all. She just didn't share the full story last year, which is that she has an indolent benign tumor which was debulked but needs radiation to (hopefully) kill it. Nothing has really changed. She's a lovely person and I hope she has the best possible outcome here.

Ummm, people die of benign brain tumors. All the time. I appreciate your optimism, but I don't think you know what you are talking about.
posted by adam hominem at 3:46 PM on January 18, 2019 [13 favorites]


Five year survival for a benign brain tumor for someone her age appears to be about 50%.

Malignant would be lower, of course.
posted by aurelian at 4:16 PM on January 18, 2019 [5 favorites]


I never suggested that a brain tumor isn't a serious, life-threatening problem, just that this development, while unfortunate, was expected by her and by her care team.
posted by killdevil at 4:19 PM on January 18, 2019 [2 favorites]


That said, yeah, radiation therapy for even a much less invasive tumor is Not Fun. (28 treatments, once per business day, for a vocal cord tumor.) You don't feel much the first week, but it snowballs on you.

I wish her all the best.
posted by aurelian at 4:20 PM on January 18, 2019 [2 favorites]


MuddDude had 6 weeks of near-brain and plain-brain radiation in 2014. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. It starts out relatively OK but every treatment made him feel worse and worse. We were also surprised at how long it took him to reach a plateau in his recovery from radiation. I wish all the best for Giertz.
posted by muddgirl at 4:23 PM on January 18, 2019 [4 favorites]


I believe that the confusion about "benign" brain tumor is cleared up in the actual video: it's still a frickin' brain tumor which could cause her damage or death if untreated, but it's not a CANCEROUS tumor that will spread elsewhere in her brain or body.

haha, very comforting, ha ha aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah
posted by ivan ivanych samovar at 5:01 PM on January 18, 2019 [1 favorite]


I am so bummed about this. I want her brain to remain intact so she can keep making the robots, dammit, or anything else she wants.
posted by jenfullmoon at 6:27 PM on January 18, 2019


UGH BRIAN JUST GO, DUDE. READ THE ROOM.

This sucks and I was sad to see the video come up earlier. Nobody expected regrowth to be this fast, which is definitely not what you want to hear, and is reason for extra concern, on top of the potential consequences of treatment.

Guh, I understand entirely why she's stayed in SF for treatment instead of going back to Sweden (significantly smaller population = less experience with Brians) but of all the many many reasons this is totally unfair to a 28-year-old kid, the potential to end up in monstrous debt and unable to work gives me the huhs.
posted by Lyn Never at 6:38 PM on January 18, 2019


BURN BRIAN BURN

Also, WRT prognosis, Giertz says that the success rate with radiation therapy for her type of tumor is 90% (no time frame cited).
posted by Halloween Jack at 8:33 PM on January 18, 2019 [1 favorite]


I'm just glad this is on Mefi because I adore Simone and I love Mefi. I saw this video on reddit last night and, while it didn't floor me, it just bummed me the right out. Partially because it's this kind of news and if you watch the video it's really hard not to empathize with Simone's situation. "I just want this to be done with so I can go make robots" is a sentiment most of us can get our head around just because it relates to at least something that's happened or is happening in our own lives.

And partially because I got to work on the same stage at SF's Dent Space conference a couple of years ago and said hi and she is one of those super cool people who is actually as real and excited as you wanted them to be ie OMG SHE IS REALLY A SUPER COOL PERSON.

And the other partially because Simone Giertz does a great job at telling us what it means to be human. And right now, "these days", I'll take as much as I can get.

So yes, BURN, Brian, BURN. 100%. Like many of us I'm tired of being sad, too. And be good and healthy and awesome, brain of Simone Giertz, be good and awesome and healthy! The world needs more robots that can laugh, marvel, and sometimes cry (but always be learning) at themselves. We need Simone Giertz.

...

PS BURN, Brian, BURN





PS PS Seriously, BRIAN, BURN AWAY COMPLETELY WE DO NOT NEED OR WANT YOU ANYMORE 100% JUST GO
posted by Mike Mongo at 6:15 AM on January 19, 2019 [2 favorites]


Well, she did not expect the tumor to grow back as quickly as it did. Like she said in the video she expected it to regrow at some point but not after mere months.

I saw that video yesterday. She is such a courageous, honest person.

Rooting for her from this side of the pond.
posted by M. at 1:06 PM on January 19, 2019


Lost a cousin to a brain tumor. She's in for a rough ride for the next 5 years.
posted by 922257033c4a0f3cecdbd819a46d626999d1af4a at 3:05 PM on January 19, 2019


I lost my best friend to a malignant brain tumor, too fast, in 2017. (He'd been worried about his memory as he was forgetting things, then at the beginning of October collapsed at work. He never saw November as by the time they found it, it was too late for anything but making him comfortable.)

Fuck cancer, fuck brain tumors, burn Brian burn, and god FUCKING dammit this is why we need to find a way to access Heaven directly, so we can punch God for letting shit like this happen.
posted by mephron at 6:03 AM on January 20, 2019 [1 favorite]


I wore a mask like that back in 2016. I had cancer in my tonsil that was noticed when it spread to below my jawline. The mask is created by first making a 3D map of your head, to include the precise location of what you want to burn out. Use of the mask minimizes the risk of damage to healthy parts of the body. I believe her when she says that the risk of death is low -- and so should you, since I promise she knows a lot more about it than you do. But it is still very scary, and she is in for an experience that will be unpleasant and will certainly keep her from being as productive as she wanted to be this year. My heart goes out. I'm sure she will be well, and she's so lucky to have people who are there for her, but this is a hard thing to handle and I wish she didn't have to deal with it at all.
posted by kittens for breakfast at 5:03 PM on January 20, 2019 [1 favorite]


« Older To Save the Sound of a Stradivarius, a Whole City...   |   Super Blood Wolf Moon 2019 Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments