My first brain surgery was in 1988. I had been diagnosed with a meningioma, a benign brain tumor, in my occipital lobe. Because it’s also located on one of the main veins in my brain, the surgeon could only remove part of it. I have continued to live with the rest of the tumor – what I call my “thorn” – for more than two decades. 

When the doctor uttered the words, “brain tumor,” at the time of my diagnosis, my greatest worry...