Prominent neurosurgeon and 17-year survivor of brain tumors encourage support for brain tumor research as National Brain Tumor Awareness Month approaches

TROY, Mich., April 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 16,000 U.S. residents die from one of 120 different forms of brain tumors each year.  This is a statistic that concerns a highly regarded Michigan neurosurgeon and Sterling, Va., patient who has been battling recurrent brain tumors for years.  Both urge more funding to learn about why brain tumors occur and how they can be prevented and cured. 

Jay Jagannathan, M.D., from Michigan-based Jagannathan Neurosurgery, who treats patients with brain and spinal tumors, said. "So much progress has been made with other diseases but this is one area that needs increased funding for more research about the cause and cure of brain tumors."

Carol Welsh, 47, is a 17-year survivor of adult ependymoma, a tumor that originated in her brain and spread to her spine. Dr. Jagannathan was on the neurosurgical team that treated her in 2005. During the past 17 years, Welsh has undergone three brain surgeries, one gamma knife radiosurgery, a placement of a shunt, dozens of radiation treatments and an oral chemotherapy called Temodar.  She writes and maintains a website at www.adultependymomabraintumor.com/ that Dr. Jagannathan has followed over the years as she chronicles her challenges and treatments.  According to Welsh, the website is intended to help educate and "perhaps inspire others" who are affected by tumors of the brain and spine. 

"The month of May as National Brain Tumor Awareness Month is very important to remind people about this complex and deadly disease," said Welsh, who was about to graduate with an MBA degree from the College of William & Mary before she began having vertigo and vomiting, eventually leading to the diagnosis of her first of many tumors.  According to Welsh, the tumors throughout the years have caused headaches, balance problems, double vision, breathing and swallowing difficulties, sheer exhaustion and "legs that feel and respond like cooked pasta."

Ms. Welsh will be participating in one of the largest fundraisers benefiting the brain tumor community, the May 7, 2017, Race for Hope-D.C., a 5K run/walk at Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., which supports the National Brain Tumor Society and Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure (ABC²). 

In Michigan, Jagannathan Neurosurgery is sponsoring a fundraiser on May 7 at a local yoga studio in which it is matching contributions to donate funds to the National Brain Tumor Society. 

Jagannathan Neurosurgery – www.mi-neurosurgery.com – with locations in Troy, Garden City, West Branch and Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., includes specialists in neurosurgery, neurology and pain management and provides interdisciplinary treatment for patients with spine and other neurological issues.  Dr. Jagannathan is known nationally for his minimally invasive surgical techniques that allow patients to recover faster with less discomfort. 

Dr. Jagannathan is a Diplomate of the American Board of Neurological Surgery, the American Academy of Neurological and Orthopedic Surgery and the American Board of Spinal Surgery.   He has done advanced training in neuro-oncology at the National Institute of Neurologic Disorders and Stroke studying drug delivery to brain tumors.  He recently was named a "Spine Surgeon to Know" by Becker's Spine Review and a "Featured Neurosurgeon" in Hour Detroit magazine's 'Top Docs' issue in 2014, 2015 and 2016.  He received the Patients' Choice Award and Compassionate Doctor Recognition from Vitals.com in 2014, 2015 and 2016.  In 2016, he was rated the Top Neurosurgeon in Metro Detroit by RateMDs.com. Dr. Jagannathan received his M.D. degree from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. His neurosurgery residency was at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center and the Wayne State University School of Medicine where he was Chief Resident.  He is a Fellow of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons.

Dr. Jagannathan has published numerous papers and book chapters in the areas of spine surgery, radiosurgery and neuro-oncology and has been the recipient of numerous awards including the
Synthes Award for craniofacial research as well as the Cone Pevehouse Award for socioeconomic research, both from the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. He was named a 'rising star' in spine surgery by In-Spine magazine. 

He is actively involved in organized neurosurgery and served as a member of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) Young Neurosurgeons Committee and on the Executive Committee of the Section on Tumors.  He also represented Michigan on the Council of State Neurosurgical Societies.

For interview requests of Dr. Jagannathan and/or Carol Welsh, please contact:
Jeff Caponigro at Caponigro Public Relations Inc., [email protected] or (248) 353-3270

SOURCE Jagannathan Neurosurgery

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