Benign brain tumor in the front: I'm freaking out

@dlc1953 , thank you so much for sharing your experience. It helps a lot to read and to know some other people’s journey with brain tumour so I can calm down a little bit as I was freaking out! 😜 Now, I’m much braver!

It is a big shock. I have a 4+ cm meningioma near my optic nerve that was found accidentally while I was in the hospital. My first response was to burst out crying! My neurologist told me it was benign and gamma knife radiation had a 90% chance of killing it. That’s what I did 1 1/2 years ago. Like others have said, find a good neurosurgeon. It’s normal to be upset about it but know that medical treatment is very advanced and effective. Best of luck to you. Try to get family or friends to support you too.

What is TMZ, please?

@cscmaryann, I believe @thomhorowitz was referring to the chemotherapy drug Temozolomide, which is sometimes abbreviated as TMZ.

Hey there I know it’s scery .. I found out in January I had a meningioma and also got 2 opinions .. both neurologist said I needed surgery as mine was 4 cm so go big to do radiation . I had surgery 6 weeks ago and glad I did before it could have been worse I only had headaches and that is how the tumor was found because I asked for an MRI.. the good news is most are benign and the neurologist can tell but a biopsy will for sure tell you .

Mine was at a 3 on left frontal lobe and my chest pains were so severe I drove to the ER thinking I was having a heart attack. It was severe anxiety due to the tumor resting on Nerve endings and the brain firing off crazy symptoms bc it had something foreign growing and putting pressure on vessels and nerves endings. I lost most of my hearing due to this.

@juju76 It’s so sad we’re going through this. How are you? What’s your neurosurgeon’s advice on your diagnosis? Mine was wait and see approach. I had another MRI after 3 months and there’s no changes, no growth. I will have another MRI after 6 months and see if there’s any changes.

Honestly, mine was removed after my follow-up from the ER visit. I went to his office, and surgery was scheduled right then, but the aftercare was HORRIBLE! I am still struggling. My cognitive abilities are not like it used to be; my short-term memory is not that good, long-term memory is great. My surgery was on 7/24/2024, and I have seen him once since the major surgery. That's to make a long story short.

Just because it’s not cancer doesn’t mean it’s totally benign.
You don’t want that thing in your head stirring up trouble later on.

juju76: Are you saying your aftercare in the hospital was horrible? My understanding is craniotomy patients go from surgery to the intensive care or a "step down" unit where the patient to nurse ratio is 1 to 3. Surely your neurosurgeon didn't discharge you to "the floor." After 2 prior non-brain related surgeries I was discharged to "the floor" and my experience was less than stellar. But I was told my neurosurgeon only allows his patients to be released from surgery to intensive care or the step down unit. Maybe a good question for those meeting with their doctor for a future surgery.