Connect with us

Florida

How a Florida woman’s NYC selfie led to her brain tumor diagnosis

Published

on

How a Florida woman’s NYC selfie led to her brain tumor diagnosis


It was a life-changing selfie.

Eight years ago, Megan Troutwine traveled to New York City to see her late cousin, Tony Martinez, who was living in Harlem.

“We had so much fun, just taking pictures and seeing the sites,” the good-spirited 33-year-old from Hudson, Florida, told The Post. “When you have family living there, your heart hits those streets differently.”

Megan Troutwine realized something was wrong after taking this selfie outside of Rockefeller Center. Courtesy of Megan Troutwine

While in Midtown, the pair visited Rockefeller Center, and Troutwine stopped to take a selfie next to the nearby reflecting pool and fountains on Sixth Avenue.

Advertisement

“I looked at the picture, and my eyelid was drooping,” Troutwine recalled. “I thought it was odd, so when I returned home, I mentioned it to my neurologist.”

The doctor ordered an MRI, and on her way home from the scan, she got a call: They had found a benign mass inside her brain that was growing at an aggressive rate.

“I found out I had a meningioma,” which is the most common form of brain cancer, explained Troutwine. “This diagnosis, it is hard.”

Troutwine began treatment immediately at Tampa’s Moffitt Cancer Center. First, surgery was performed to remove the tumor. Then a follow-up procedure revealed the presence of another primary brain tumor — this one, a glioma.

After mentioning her drooping eye to her neurologist, she found she had brain cancer. Megan Troutwine/Facebook

Doctors informed Troutwine — now working as a health unit coordinator at Moffitt — that the tumor would continue to slowly grow, and that she’d likely require lifelong monitoring for her condition.

Advertisement

On top of that, doctors also discovered she carries the PTEN gene mutation, putting her at greater risk for developing other cancers.

Troutwine’s ordeal only recently came to light in a recent report on her local Fox station.

Since 2017, when she underwent a craniotomy, Troutwine was diagnosed with and treated for both breast and uterine cancer, she told The Post.

Throughout her tough treatments, Troutwine said she’s been fortunate enough to meet “some of the most genuine and inspiring people” she’s ever known.

Doctors then discovered Troutwine carries the PTEN gene mutation, putting her at greater risk for developing other cancers. Megan Troutwine/Facebook

“Cancer was not my first choice, but I wouldn’t trade where I am or what I have gone through for anything,” she said. She added that through her work now, she’s able to help “people in the most difficult time in their lives. So many people going through this don’t have that support system through it, so to be a vessel for that is a blessing.”

Advertisement

The church ministry student said she plans on pursuing a second degree — in public health.

“I have a heart for people and trying to help people in any way that I can,” Troutwine said.

Since her initial NYC visit, Troutwine lost her cousin to pancreatic cancer. She’s been back to the city only once — “to pay homage to the memories I shared with him.”



Source link

Advertisement

Florida

Read Florida’s lawsuit against Roblox

Published

on

Read Florida’s lawsuit against Roblox


The Florida Attorney General’s Office on Thursday, Dec. 11, filed a lawsuit against popular online gaming platform Roblox, accusing the company of failing to protect its millions of underage users from predatory adults who would “find, groom, and abuse children.”

“Roblox aggressively markets to young children, but fails to protect them from sexual predators,” Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a post to X. “As a father of three little ones and as Florida’s attorney general, my number one priority is simple: to protect our kids.”

The lawsuit claims Florida children have been talked into taking and sending sexual images of themselves and lists several recent incidences, including a 20-year-old California man arrested last month for having sexually explicit conversations with a Palm Coast child and asking for nude photos.

Advertisement

A Roblox spokesperson said the lawsuit “fundamentally misrepresents how Roblox works.”

“We have advanced safeguards that monitor our platform for harmful content and communications,” Roblox Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman said in a statement, adding that the company — currently the most downloaded game in the world — will be rolling out additional safeguards “beyond what is required by law and what other platforms do.”

Read Florida’s lawsuit against Roblox

Can’t see the embedded document? Click here.

What is Roblox?

San Mateo, California-based Roblox, released in 2006, hosts millions of user-created games (or “experiences”) constructed with the platform’s built-in game engine. Any user can create a game and share it with others, and there are millions of games available of all types.

The game platform and most games are free to use, but some cost to play. There is also a thriving economy based on Robux, an in-game virtual currency used to purchase virtual items. Roblox offers a subscription service called Roblox Premium that provides access to more features and a monthly allowance of Roblox.

Advertisement

Voice chat is available, but only for users aged 13 or older with verified ages. Age ratings were introduced for games in 2022, and in 2023, 17+ games were permitted to include more graphic violence, romance, and drinking.

According to Roblox, as of 2020, the monthly playerbase included half of all American children under the age of 16.





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Florida

Florida’s complete 2026 football schedule unveiled

Published

on

Florida’s complete 2026 football schedule unveiled


GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The 2026 football schedule for the Florida Gators has been set. Next year’s slate was unveiled Thursday night on SEC Network.

The most notable dates are Florida’s SEC opener on Sept. 19 — a Week 3 trip to Auburn, where the Gators haven’t played since 2011 — along with a road game at Texas on Oct. 17 and home games against Ole Miss (Sept. 26) and Oklahoma (Nov. 7).

Next season will mark the Sooners’ first-ever visit to Gainesville. The teams have previously played twice in the postseason, with the Gators defeating Oklahoma 24-14 in their first-ever meeting to win the 2008 national championship.

The Gators open the season in The Swamp on Sept. 5 against Florida Atlantic. UF’s other non-conference opponents will be Campbell (Sept. 12) and at Florida State (Nov. 28).

Advertisement

Florida is also hosting South Carolina (Oct. 10) and Vanderbilt (Nov. 21). The Gators haven’t played the Gamecocks or the Commodores since 2023.

UF takes on Georgia in Atlanta on Oct. 31 after the bye week. Florida’s other road games are Missouri (Oct. 3), Texas (Oct. 17) and Kentucky (Nov. 14).

The Gators will be led by first-year coach Jon Sumrall. He won the American Conference title with Tulane last week and has the Green Wave in the College Football Playoffs. They will have a rematch against Ole Miss on Dec. 20 in the first round after losing in Oxford, 45-10, on Sept. 20.

Sumrall was back in Gainesville this week to assemble his staff. So far, he has hired offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, defensive coordinator Brade White and defensive line coach Gerald Chatman.

Date Opponent Location
Sept. 5 Florida Atlantic Gainesville, Florida
Sept. 12 Campbell Gainesville, Florida
Sept. 19 at Auburn Auburn, Alabama
Sept. 26 Ole Miss Gainesville, Florida
Oct. 3 at Missouri Columbia, Missouri
Oct. 10 South Carolina Gainesville, Florida
Oct. 17 at Texas Austin, Texas
Oct. 24 Bye
Oct. 31 Georgia Atlanta, Georgia
Nov. 7 Oklahoma Gainesville, Florida
Nov. 14 at Kentucky Lexington, Kentucky
Nov. 21 Vanderbilt Gainesville, Florida
Nov. 28 at Florida State Tallahassee, Florida

Not a member of Gators Online?

CLICK HERE to join the Gators Online community for just $1! It’s the top place for passionate Florida fans to find the best insight and news in the market. 

Advertisement

Boasting a talented collection of experienced journalists, we dig deep into recruiting and provide breaking news and analysis on UF sports.



Source link

Continue Reading

Florida

Florida basketball has failed to meet expectations early on

Published

on

Florida basketball has failed to meet expectations early on


A 5-4 start to Florida basketball’s national title defense is not what anyone had in mind — much less, the Gator Nation — but here we are nine games deep into the 2025-26 schedule.

To be fair, three of those losses have come against programs currently ranked among the top five in both major polls and have been off to stellar starts. The Arizona Wildcats, Duke Blue Devils and UConn Huskies are nothing to sneeze at, and while the TCU Horned Frogs are not quite on their tier, all of these losses came either on the road (Duke) or on a neutral court (the other three).

Maybe Todd Golden should reconsider playing in all of these early-season special events in the future. But alas, that is a story for another season.

Advertisement

ESPN thinks Florida has failed to meet expectations

Obviously, with a dominating frontcourt roster returning in full, there was plenty to be optimistic about heading into the campaign. However, the departure of three guards to the NBA and a fourth to the transfer portal has proven to be a void too large to fill with their offseason acquisitions.

And that is the crux of ESPN’s Myron Medcalf’s observation that the Gators have simply not met the bar so far.

“Months after winning a national title with an elite set of guards, Florida’s Todd Golden rebooted his backcourt with former Arkansas star Boogie Fland and Princeton transfer Xaivian Lee,” he begins.

“It hasn’t worked out as planned. In Florida’s two-player lineups — an on-court metric at EvanMiya.com that captures how teams perform when specific players are paired together — the Fland-Lee combination ranked 26th within its own team,” Metcalf continues.

“And though Lee scored 19 points against UConn in Tuesday’s game at Madison Square Garden, that loss was another example of the Gators’ limitations when Lee and Fland (1-for-9 combined from 3 against the Huskies) aren’t equally elite on the same night.”

Advertisement

He has not liked what he has seen, and his conclusion is not necessarily unfair.

“Ultimately, Florida hasn’t looked like a defending champion thus far, despite Thomas Haugh (18.6 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 2.8 APG) playing like an All-American.”

How does the NET, BPI and KenPom view Florida basketball?

While Medcalf’s assessment comes fully equipped with dark clouds, the objective metrics paint a much more optimistic outlook for the team overall.

According to the NET rankings, Florida is just inside the top 25 at No. 24 — one spot ahead of the Miami Hurricanes, who they beat in Jacksonville back in November. The Gators are 1-3 in Quadrant 1 matchups, 1-1 in Quad 2, 1-0 in Quad 3 and 2-0 in Quad 4.

KenPom views the Orange and Blue even more bullishly, ranking Florida at No. 15 despite the weak record. Golden’s gang currently sits at No. 15 with a plus-26.55 adjusted net rating — up from plus-25.70 (17th) at the end of November, while the offense (120.4) moved up from 24th to 23rd in the nation, and the defense (93.8) has only dropped one place — from 10th to 11th — despite allowing 0.6 fewer points per 100 possessions.

Advertisement

The most optimistic metric for Florida comes from ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, which has the Gators at No. 9 despite a 1-3 stretch over the past two weeks. They have an 18.8 overall BPI, with the offense logging in at 8.5 (22nd) and defense earning a 10.3 (8th) rating recently.

ESPN projects Florida to go 21.0-10.0 overall and 12.2-5.8 in conference play.

Follow us @GatorsWire on X, formerly known as Twitter, as well as Bluesky, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.





Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Trending