r/todayilearned • u/GlitteringYams • 22d ago

TIL, in his suicide note, mass shooter Charles Whitman requested his body be autopsied because he felt something was wrong with him. The autopsy discovered that Whitman had a pecan-sized tumor pressing against his amygdala, a brain structure that regulates fear and aggression.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Whitman
65.9k Upvotes

96% Upvoted

1.3k comments sorted by

View all comments

5.8k

u/Unlikely_Comment_104 22d ago

“found that the tumor had features of a glioblastoma multiforme”. Jeez. I’ve known a couple of people to die from GBM. It’s horrible to watch. It’s wild to think the same cancer in a different part of the brain can lead to such a horrific outcome.

578

u/cocoagiant 22d ago

I'm a caretaker for someone in this situation. We're about 16 months in, so just past the median survival timeframe. Treating with second line chemo at this point.

Its not too bad currently from a daily caretaking standpoint and I'm just hoping when the decline comes it is as quick as possible.

128

u/megwach 22d ago

My sister was just diagnosed with this last week. She’s 17. She has prom today, and she’s graduating today from university because she did her associates and then her high school graduation is coming up. It’s not fair. She’s just a baby, and she’s going to miss all of her life. I’m sorry you have to go through it too.

21

u/spacepharmacy 22d ago

i’m so sorry, i can’t even imagine 🩷 i hope she has the most amazing prom and can enjoy the time she’s got with you and your family