Blog

Dr. Chester Griffiths has a knack for making people feel at ease right away. His easy-going manner and friendly disposition complement his considerable surgical experience and expertise. Along with Dr. Daniel Kelly at the Pacific Neuroscience Institute, he is co-surgeon in endoscopic endonasal pituitary and skull base surgeries, and provides post-operative...

We are at a point in medicine where in the near future many types of cancers will be in long-term remission and will even achieve the tentative status of being cured. Funding at the national level for Precision Medicine programs, including cancer, is dramatically helping to achieve...

by Guest Writer Dr. Patti Johnson It takes Two – You and Your Support Team A chronic condition is one that persists over time without an easily definable beginning, middle and end. After being diagnosed with a chronic condition, such as some types of brain...

Providence Saint John’s Health Center has opened the first Voyager device clinical trial in Los Angeles. Principal investigator, Garni Barkhoudarian, MD, and co- investigator, Santosh Kesari, MD, PhD, both faculty at Saint John’s Cancer Institute and Pacific Neuroscience Institute physicians, are actively recruiting patients for...

As a youngster, Santosh Kesari, MD, PhD, often wondered: “Who are we?” That philosophical question sparked his curiosity about the brain and, later, the brain-body connection. Today that fascination has evolved into a full-blown passion that’s led him to become one of the foremost neuro-oncologists...

Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased, Pluck from the memory a rooted sorrow, Raze out the written troubles of the brain And with some sweet oblivious antidote Cleanse the stuffed bosom of that perilous stuff Which weighs upon the heart? – Shakespeare, Macbeth,...

Crossing the blood-brain barrier can be a good thing. The blood-barrier normally protects the brain from attack by toxins and infection. This same protective quality prevents drugs reaching areas of the brain that are affected by disease such as brain cancer. Researchers in Canada were able...

In August, former president, Jimmy Carter, was diagnosed with advanced melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer that spread to his liver and was found in four spots in his brain. He is being treated at Emory University’s Winship Cancer Center in Atlanta with focused...

By Chester Griffiths, MD, FACS Chief, Endoscopic Endonasal Skull Base Surgery Pacific Brain Tumor Center “Smell is a potent wizard that transports you across thousands of miles and all the years you have lived.” – Helen Keller The organ of smell is located in the roof of...

There are many effective treatment opinions nowadays for brain tumors and brain cancers. Sometimes staying focused on the right treatment plan for you or your loved one may involve a change of treatment plans periodically. It is normal to feel anxiety and experience the signs...