Issue link: https://blog.providence.org/i/1518198
Health Matters: Providence Saint John's Health Center | 5 Matthew Smith Photography L oretta Joseph and her sister, Denise, both were diagnosed with benign brain tumors at age 66. Although their symptoms weren't exactly the same, their paths both led to Daniel F. Kelly, MD, neurosurgeon at Providence Saint John's Health Center and director of the Pacific Neuroscience Institute. In 2017, Denise had been practicing yoga when, at the end of her session, she did a headstand that led to a painful blackout. A cervical MRI showed an abnormality, but that was unrelated to the pain. Over the next eight months, the painful blackouts continued—triggered by actions as simple as swallowing or taking a walk in the park. Visits to doctors didn't result in solutions, only frustration, until Denise's dentist took time to listen and then recommended she see a neurologist, who prescribed a brain MRI. Within minutes of completing the scan, the neurologist called to say Denise had two meningiomas (the most common brain tumor in the covering of the brain) and that she needed to see a brain surgeon as soon as possible. "I was both frightened and relieved, because I finally learned what was wrong," recalls Denise. "Looking back, I now know there were other symptoms, like losing my balance when I closed my eyes to wash my hair in the shower, not being able to walk in a straight line and difficulty bending over to tie my shoes." HISTORY REPEATING Five years after Denise's diagnosis and surgery, her younger sister, Loretta, caught a shoe on the tile at home, causing her to fall and hit her head on an end table. Noticing headaches and light sensitivity, Loretta reached out to her primary care physician, who recommended only rest for recovery. Two weeks later, Loretta suffered the most severe headache she'd ever had. It felt like her head was going to explode. Her doctor prescribed migraine medicine, but no MRI. Yet Loretta knew in her gut that something was wrong, and after six weeks of debilitating headaches she switched doctors. When she saw primary care physician Kamyar Kamjoo, MD, he ordered a brain MRI. The next morning he called Loretta with a tumor diagnosis—a meningioma just like Denise had. But the recommended neurosurgeon had a six-week wait list. Frustrated, Loretta started searching the internet and discovered Dr. Kelly and the Pacific Two Sisters, One Scary Diagnosis Neurosurgeon Dr. Dan Kelly treated the siblings for the same condition: a benign brain tumor. Before they found Dr. Kelly, though, each had a difficult journey to a diagnosis.