Jennifer is my 25 year old daughter. Currently she is attending college in San Antonio and working.

In November of 2000 she was diagnosed with a brain tumor located on her pituitary gland. The pituitary gland is located in the middle of your head , below your brain and behind your eyes.  She underwent surgery and the tumor was removed. The miraculous technique involved going up her nose and punching a hole into her brain cavity. The tumor was them sucked out.

In May of 2002 the tumor was detected again in the same area. She underwent surgery a second time and the tumor was removed. This time they went in under her lip and essentially did they same procedure as before. In both case no skull cracking, head shaving, or actual cutting was involved.

Dad & Jenn

Jenn fly fishing at Shonto Ranch

Jenn was again diagnosed the third time in late December of 2004. This time surgery is not an option. Instead she will have a radiation treatment called Gamma Knife. This entails aiming pinpoint accurate radiation beams on the tumor. The doctors predict they will be able to burn away the tumor with minimal damage. Loss of hair is not a side effect. Her head will be placed in a rigid helmet with which the machine (which looks like a MRI machine) will able to register very accurately the location of the tumor inside her brain.

Feb 22, 2005

The procedure is planned for March 9th. From what the doctors tell us she should be able to go home the same day and expect to be off her feet for about 3 days.

Her mother and I would like to thank everyone for their response. The resulting prayers have helped immensely.

 March 9, 2005

This is the night before, Jenn and her two dogs, Bandit and Haina

This is Wednesday morning about 6am.

This is part of the apparatus they mounted on her head so that the machine could register with the various parts of her brain.

This is the Gamma Knife machine they used.

This is about 10am back at home on the same day.

The doctors zapped the tumor and now all we can do is wait and pray that it is entirely gone.  The Saenz, Chapa, and Cortinas families would like to thank everyone for their support and prayers.

April 9, 2005

Jennifer is back to work and back in college. The spurious swelling has gone away. Currently we will have to wait a couple more months before another MRI will be taken so that we can find out if the tumor is indeed completely gone.

May 14, 2005

Jennifer joined me at the Memorial Bud Priddy One Fly Contest in Camp Wood, TX on the Nueces River. She caught several bass and a few perch. The prize was the rather large 13 Guadalupe Bass seen below.

Dec 18, 2005 

Jennifer has taken a big step and has moved out for the first time. She has gotten an apartment in San Antonio. She continues to work and attend college. Her health is great and progress continues.

May 20, 2006

Jennifer once again joined me at the Memorial Bud Priddy One Fly Contest in Camp Wood, TX on the Nueces River.

August 3, 2006

Today we received great news. The growth that has to be monitored has shrunk in size according to the latest MRI! It is now half of its previous size and is expected to shrink even more and possibly go away over time. The Gamma Knife procedure worked.

April 9, 2008

The MRI results are in. Today we received fantastic news, the doctor said she is "normal." The remnants of the tumor have shriveled up and are toast due to the Gamma Knife treatment. After 3 operations, many years, and countless tears my little girl (not so little anymore) is back to normal.

The Chapa, Saenz, and Cortinas families would like to thank everyone that has supported us over the last 8 years. The support from the fishing community and the Tejano music community has been outstanding. A day does not go by without someone asking or emailing about her condition. We would like to thank everyone for their prayers and best wishes. Prayer does work.

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The following is meant to inform you in the event some loved ones of yours may be experiencing the same symptoms.

A pituitary tumor in the brain is often associated with headaches, blurry vision, excessive fatigue, memory loss, etc. In Jennifer's case her monthly cycle went away. While initially she thought that was pretty cool one of her doctors provided the link that it might be tumor related.

1. Brain. 2. Pituitary Gland.

After some tests it was discovered that her Prolactin hormone level was way too high. It registered over 600 when it should have been between 4 and 21. The pituitary gland controls hormone release into the body. In this instance it was releasing too much. Pituitary: Overview

Medication was used to try to rein in the tumor and lower the Prolactin level. This worked to some degree but not entirely.