Kentucky man celebrates 10 years surviving brain cancer
OWENSBORO, Ky. (AP) — A long scar stretches across the top of Todd Self's head, starting above his right ear. The line continues until somewhere above his left eye.
That scar is the only visible sign of his miraculous medical journey.
This year, Self celebrates his 10-year survival anniversary after being diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme — the brain tumor that took Arizona Sen. John McCain's life last year. Former Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy died of glioblastoma in 2009. Both men survived a little more than a year after diagnosis.
The American Cancer Society reports the median length of survival among adults with glioblastoma is 12 to 18 months.
In Self's age group — 20 to 44 — only 19 percent live five years.