Hello @pam1954, about 4 years ago, I learned through an MRI that I had a very large meningioma that would require surgery to remove. Other treatment options were not considered to be viable. Like you, I did not have many overt symptoms beforehand, but I did have 3 syncope events, for which I decided to visit my PC. His hunch was that the events were probably caused by a heart condition, so I go quite a cardio workup. As almost an after thought, an MRI was prescribed. The MRI was interrupted by the technician who stopped it and called the Emergency Dept., which requested that I be ushered over there immediately. I did not understand what was happening until I met with the ER docto, who showed me the available MRI imagery, told me that it showed what he called a tumor, and indicated that I needed to meet with a neurosurgeon, who showed up minutes later. The neurosurgeon explained that the growth was a very large meningioma that was likely non cancerous, that had been growing for many years, and was likely the cause of my syncope events. The imagery clearly showed that it surrounded my optical nerve and also encased my cerebral artery. Probably like you, I had never heard of a meningioma and wondered what it meant for me. I was told that I would need surgery to remove the growth but that it could not be done at our small town surgery center and was referred to a larger medical center that could handle the job. I was also prescribed Keppra, 750 mg, twice a day to ward off possible seizures. My surgery got scheduled for about 2 months later. I wanted the surgery date to arrive soon so that I could get this over with but, on the other hand, I was dreading the arrival of the date. The surgery team was very careful and left in place what was said to be about 10% of the meningioma because of its close association with my optical nerve and artery. As noted by someone else, the craniotomy was not as bad as I thought it would be and I had very little pain afterwards, requiring only Tylenol on one occasion to dull the sensation. My opthamologist exams after surgery were normal. I have had annual followup MRIs to monitor the residual meningioma and, thank goodness, it has not grown larger during that past 4 years.

I know from experience how jarring a sudden and unexpected diagnosis of a meningioma can be, but for both of us, it is very fortuitous that it has been recognized. I would not know if there are treatment options other than surgery available to help protect your optical nerve, but I would suggest asking about the best approach for protecting your vision. I extend my best wishes to you as you go forward and wish you the best possible outcome of your treatment. Good luck!