kbsmith, I am similar with grade 3 meningioma. 100% resected, (removed through surgery) August 2024, and 6 weeks of radiation, 2 gy daily and 60gy in total, finished in November 2024. I have had one MRI so far in my lifelong monitoring. The oncologist was shocked how well the report read.
I found my tumor because of things I was noticing on hikes; my left arm wasn't swinging naturally as I walked and my left foot kept dragging. Also, my balance was not so good. My husband said it sounded like a stroke, so I went to the ER where they did a CT and then an MRI. They thought they found a benign meningioma. Immediately I had brain surgery; within hours. . I am an active, healthy, outdoors-y Californian, but recovery from surgery in the immediate was tough. I didn't have use of my left arm or leg and I also had a left-side attention deficit, I had a tough time registering things on the left and I would bump into things on that side. I was admitted to an acute rehab for 8 days as the swelling in my brain went down. I recovered a lot of my deficit areas quickly and was released early. I am 61 and being healthy and active beforehand made a lot of difference. Today, 7 months after surgery, most people have no idea I had brain surgery and radiation. I still notice things like balance issues - my gait is a little off - my left hand is not as coordinated as it used to be. But as I sit here typing I already see significant improvement. I am convinced these are all things that with time will get better; my brain was injured from the tumor and has to be retrained.

Radiation was brutal. The sessions themselves were fine, but I lost my hair on the entry sight permenantly. I am a woman and that is a pretty big Quality of Life issue for me.

I have an amazing group of people that have support me and that is everything. My hope is in the Lord. He is good.

My husbands is a grade 3 as well. He had surgery in 2022 followed by 6 weeks of radiation. They originally graded his at a 2 but later did more molecular testing and put it at a 3. He had cyber knife a year and half after surgery when it started to regrow. He’s been on Atvastin for last year and has tolerated that very well and had good quality of life. It’s only been in the last few months that he’s having significant visual issues from either regrowth or possibly effects from previous radiation. We just met with the radiation oncologist and they hope to do more localized radiation if testing shows that it is definitely regrowth. He’s going to have a specialized PET scan that will show what’s scaring vs tumor. We are trying to keep the faith that a new treatment will be discovered from one of the clinical trials Please keep us updated on how you are doing. It’s reassuring to find someone else on this site that has a grade 3 as most are grade 1 and 2