Kelly Mitchell faced the unthinkable – a craniopharyngioma brain tumor diagnosis while seven months pregnant.  Her doctor, Charles Y Liu, MD, PhD, and Keck Hospital of USC CEO, Mitch Creem, were celebrating her recovery, and the birth of her healthy baby, at a recent LA Dodgers game where Mitchell tossed the first pitch.

Understanding Tumors

The brain is the body’s control center, responsible for movement, thought, memory, behavior and emotion. It is linked to the body by the nervous system with the spinal cord as its primary pathway.  Depending on location, a brain or spinal cord tumor disrupts any, or all, of these functions.  The first step to treatment is an accurate diagnosis.  The Brain and Spine Tumor Center leads the way in diagnosis and treatment of both benign and malignant brain tumors.

Brain and spinal tumors come in a great variety of pathologic types.  Each needs a different approach to treatment.  Medication, surgery or radiology treatment may be required, either separately, or in combination.  The Brain and Spine Tumor Center offers a comprehensive approach to caring for patients with brain or spinal tumors by bringing together physicians specializing in neuro-oncology, radiation oncology or neurosurgery to provide a broad range of treatment options.  Learn more at the Brain and Spine Tumor Center website. 

• Benign:
  • Acoustic neuromas
  • Colloid cyst
  • Craniopharyngimoas
  • Hemangioblastomas
  • Meningiomas
  • Pinealomas
  • Pituitary adenoma

• Malignant:
  • Anaplastic and low-grade astrocytomas
  • CNS Lymphoma
  • Ependymomas
  • Germinomas
  • Gliobastomas / Gilosarcomas
  • Glomus Jugulare Tumor
  • Medulloblastoma
  • Meningiomas
  • Metastatic Brain Tumor
  • Mixed malignant gilomas
  • Oligodendrogliomas

 Patient-Centered Care and Diagnosis

We know a diagnosis of a brain or spinal tumor is frightening for patients and their families.  That is why our team puts patients at the center of their care by explaining all treatment options, and allowing patients to have a voice in their care decisions. Our experience shows that good communications throughout the treatment process provides clarity and keeps patients and their families more calm, reducing stress.  Less stress results in quicker recovery and rehabilitation.

A clinical nurse practitioner stays in contact with the patient throughout the course of care, providing education and information.  The nurse practitioner is key to the coordination of all aspects of  care between the family, patient, doctors and medical technicians, including post-treatment care such as support groups  or community resources.

We are with patients every stop of the way.  Our team stays in close touch with referring physicians, providing them with timely updates about the status of their patient’s treatment.  We encourage phone calls, and are available for consultations for complex cases.

Treatment Options - Extensive Radiosurgery Expertise

For brain tumor removal, our physicians maximize the use of pre-operative imaging information to pinpoint the location of the tumor, therefore minimizing the risk to surrounding areas.  The Brain and Spine Tumor Center utilizes advanced neuronavigational technology and frameless stereotactic devices to better localize the tumors.  USC is one of only a few universities where interventional neuroradiologists are part of the multi-disciplinary neuro-oncology team.  To learn more about our state-of-the-art radiosurgery equipment that supports neurosurgery treatment plans, visit our Radiosurgery Center.

Fight On!
Contact Us

To learn more about our Brain and Spine Tumor Center physicians, visit their site at btc.usc.edu.

Keck Hospital of USC/USC Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center
Brain and Spine Tumor Center 323-865-3050
nsmessage@med.usc.edu