CENTENNIAL HONORS COLLEGE
Western Illinois University
Undergraduate Research Day 2015
Podium Presentation
Carrying Your Love with Me
Shelby Grazulis
Faculty Mentor: Barbara Ashwood
English and Journalism
Glioblastoma Mulitforme (GBM) is an aggressive brain tumor that took my father’s life after a fourteenmonth battle. In this piece of creative nonfiction, I combine research and personal narrative to show what
GBM is, the symptoms and side effects, and the possible treatments. Though GBM accounts for
approximately fifteen percent of all brain tumors, its severity warrants more social attention, especially
since it is rarely seen in men and women under the age of forty-five. This piece is not only an exploration
of my father’s own struggle and my life with him, but also an effort to raise awareness for GBM.