(III & IV) present high mortality rates (mainly due to late detection of the neoplasm). Prevention There are no precise guidelines because the exact cause of astrocytoma is not known. Treatment For low-grade astrocytomas, removal of the tumor generally allows functional survival for many years. In some reports, the 5-year survival has been over 90% with well-resected tumors. Indeed, broad intervention of low-grade conditions is a contested matter. In particular, pilocytic astrocytomas are commonly indolent bodies that may permit normal neurologic function. However, left unattended, these tumors may eventually undergo neoplastic transformation. To date, complete resection of high-grade astrocytomas is impossible because of the diffuse infiltration of tumor cells into normal parenchyma. Thus, high-grade astrocytomas inevitably recur after initial surgery or therapy and are usually treated similarly to the initial tumor. Despite decades of therapeutic research, curative intervention is still nonexistent for high-grade astrocytomas; patient care ultimately focuses on palliative management. Society and culture Notable cases In March 1990, United States Republican Party political right wing strategist Lee Atwater was diagnosed with astrocytoma after a tumor was found in his right parietal lobe. After undergoing radiation therapy (including the then-new implant radiation treatment), Atwater died the following year at the age of 40. Long-time U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) died of malignant glioma. University of Texas sniper Charles Whitman, who killed multiple people during a mass murder event in 1966, was diagnosed with astrocytoma post-mortem. The Connally Commission investigating the shooting concluded the tumor "conceivably could have contributed to his inability to control his emotions and actions". Dan Quisenberry (Major League pitcher) was diagnosed with grade IV astrocytoma in January 1998. He died age 45 in 1998 in Leawood, Kansas. Richard Burns, winner of the 2001 World Rally Championship, was diagnosed with astrocytoma in 2003. Four years to the day after winning the World Rally Championship, on 25 November 2005, Burns died in Westminster, London, aged 34, after having been in a coma for some days as a result of his brain tumour. Brittany Maynard, a UC Berkeley graduate and advocate for Death With Dignity, died November 19, 2014, aged 29, being assisted with self-delivery, having been diagnosed and battled glioblastoma. Professional wrestler Matt Cappotelli was diagnosed with a grade 2/3 astrocytoma in December 2005, scuttling plans to promote Cappottelli to the main WWE roster. Cappotelli, who won a contract with WWE through the third season of their reality program