Anthony Ash Warriors

My name is Anthony Ash and I’m 44 years old. On September 23, 2012, I went to the ER in Fresno, CA with a severe headache, confusion, loss of balance and weakness on my right side of my body. After examination and review of a CT scan, I was diagnosed with a large brain mass. I underwent seven days of testing, it was determined that my brain mass was something outside the scope of local doctors, and I was immediately transferred to UCSF Medical Center by ambulance. On October 1, 2012, after additional testing, and a craniotomy with biopsy, I was given grave news. They informed me that I had primary brain cancer and the tumor was inoperable. Additionally, the tumor was a grade 4 Glioblastoma-Multiforme, a highly aggressive brain tumor and the deadliest form of brain cancer. My prognosis was 12-15 months as a best case scenario if I elected to an 8-week aggressive treatment protocol consisting of Radiation, Chemotherapy, and 6 month round of clinical trial medications. I was self-employed and as a result lost my business and my wife had to quit her job in order to provide 24-hour care for me.

Instantly, our life was flipped upside down. I remember my wife looking me in the eyes and saying, we are going to fight this! Promise me, you will be positive and fight hard to live, Team Ash? I responded, Team Ash! We allowed ourselves a few days to cry with friends and family and live with worry and fear. Afterwards, we handed it over to God and our faith in Him. We asked every person we knew to pray, and our prayers were answered! I'm not going to lie the first 6 months were bad, really bad. I got worse before I got better. Some days I had very few lucid moments, and my cognitive skills and short term memory were impaired. After 6 months, we began to see a small light at the end of the tunnel. My MRI's started showing a reduction in my tumor. By May 2012, 8 months post-diagnosis, the doctors were shocked, I kept hearing, "We've never seen this kind of recovery!" and "The tumor has shrunk almost 75%" or "I can't believe this is the same guy from a few months ago." We were not surprised, our prayers were answered, God had given me the gift of time, and I wasn’t going to waste it!

Although, I knew I wasn’t cured, I remained "stable" meaning no new tumor growth, from May 2013 to January 2015. On January 22, 2015, after a month of returning headaches and an MRI, I was given the devastating news that my Glioblastoma had returned in the form of a 5cm tumor near my right temporal lobe. Luckily, the new tumor was operable and on February 9, 2015 I returned to UCSF where I had a craniotomy that resulted in 90% of my tumor being removed. Once again, I began the long road of recovery and secondary treatments consisting of 4 weeks of Radiation, Chemotherapy and Avastin treatments. The prognosis for reoccurring Glioblastoma is grim, I was given 6 months at best. I will continue with monthly Chemotherapy treatments, for the remainder of my life.

My wife Deanna and I are so grateful for the out pouring of love and prayers from our friends and family over the last 32 months. My treatment has financially devastated our family and we have relied on assistance for day to day living and thus there hasn’t been an opportunity for us to experience life outside treatment.

We are so blessed to have this additional time together, We’ve been through so much over the last 2 ½ years, but the one thing that has not waivered is our faith in God, our love for each other, and our bond as best friends, husband and wife.


Anthony David Ash
Fresno, CA