How long does it take for a meningioma tumor to grow large?

Posted by margieturtle @margieturtle, May 10 1:29am

I have just been diagnosed with a meningioma tumor. I am 64 years old and had breast cancer in 2003. Since 2009 I have had difficulty with my balance, eye sight and speech. Along with a-lot of headaches!!!
I am currently in a wheelchair due to my balance issues. I was getting scans 2 times a year from 2009-2015. I finally stop the scans because the doctors could not find a reason for my condition. Mow, 2024 I finally went in for another MRI and they found a meningioma tumor whites causes all my systems and come to find out my present doctor looked at my last scan of 2015 and told me the tumor was there then but now it has grown very big. However he claims removing in his opinion will not help with my systems?????? What am I missing.???????So to date I have been living with this meningioma tumor for, we now know at-least 9 years. Could it be the reason I am in a wheelchair? Do I take the risk and remove it to see if that's been my problem all these years or do I do nothing???

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I had my mengioma removed 2 years ago April 18th. Very large, the size of a lemon. Mine they suspect had been growing for 10/15 years. I had similar symptoms and my surgery went well.

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Was the doctor who saw the meningioma in 2015 a neurologist or primary care physician? Both doctors I referenced, neurologist and P.C.P. said, yes, I had a meningioma but not to worry unless they were causing symptoms because they were found in many deceased people who had undergone autopsies and those people never knew they had them. So, basically, they happen a lot in "old" people. I finally figured out that all these sinus symptoms I had been living with for 5 years were a symptom and saw a neurosurgeon. He said, it needs to come out. It was very close to my optic nerve. So my advice is, if you haven't already, consult with a neurosurgeon not just a neurologist or primary care doctor.

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@mkoch

Was the doctor who saw the meningioma in 2015 a neurologist or primary care physician? Both doctors I referenced, neurologist and P.C.P. said, yes, I had a meningioma but not to worry unless they were causing symptoms because they were found in many deceased people who had undergone autopsies and those people never knew they had them. So, basically, they happen a lot in "old" people. I finally figured out that all these sinus symptoms I had been living with for 5 years were a symptom and saw a neurosurgeon. He said, it needs to come out. It was very close to my optic nerve. So my advice is, if you haven't already, consult with a neurosurgeon not just a neurologist or primary care doctor.

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The doctor who ordered the MRI in 2015 was a neurologist but he never caught it. I had a MRI done this year and was seeing a new neurologist and the had me see a neurosurgeon. Now this Neurosurgeon does not think that my present medical condition has anything to do with my tumor but I have blurred vision, headaches. slurred speech and difficulty walking which has lead me to wheelchair full-time. All these systems are caused by this type of tumor, so why wouldn't they be related? I am getting a second opinion from a different neurosurgeon this week.

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@catv7

I had my mengioma removed 2 years ago April 18th. Very large, the size of a lemon. Mine they suspect had been growing for 10/15 years. I had similar symptoms and my surgery went well.

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Did all you systems go away after removing it? Hong were you in the hospital? What was your recovery time at home? Any pain?

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@margieturtle

Did all you systems go away after removing it? Hong were you in the hospital? What was your recovery time at home? Any pain?

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Some of my symptoms went away but not all. I was told that is pretty standard. That being that once certain symptoms set in the surgery and/or radiation won't necessarily eradicate the symptoms but should prevent things from getting worse. I was in the "step down" unit at UCSF for 2 nights. (That is one level lower than the intensive care unit but not on the regular floor.)
I really was never in any pain. I was told by my first nurse that 800 mg. of tylenol every 6-8 hours was the standard pain med for brain surgery and that worked well. I was discharged with no prescription pain medicine. Just to continue with the tylenol. The craniotomy was not as bad as I had imagined/stressed about it being. My husband took care of me at home but I was able to walk and use the restroom unassisted. I had a 3 cm. meningioma resected from behind my eye. Good luck to you.

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@margieturtle

Did all you systems go away after removing it? Hong were you in the hospital? What was your recovery time at home? Any pain?

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What do you mean symptoms? Yes most went away. I had some lingering ones. Eyesight was affected, had blurry vision for a few months which has gone away completely. Have unnoticeable periferal vision loss. I was only in hospital for 2 days not typical according to my doctor. I had an exceptional surgeon. I was able to immediately shower & walk although walking was a bit scary as balance was off a little for the first few weeks especially. And it did take a few months to be able to play games as odd as that may sound. My mental ability to recall instructions was hard. Recovery is hard to gauge, I feel like the physical recovery with stitches and such from surgery was at least 6/8 weeks. The mental part was and still kind of is for me as I am healing mentally from this. It’s been slow and it is things like memory recollection & mental tasks. I have a lot of numbness on the same side as my tumor was on my head, eyebrow & eye. Still there but taking a long time to go away completely. As for pain, no pain ever on my incision which ran completely across to top of my head down my right side to my ear. Not sure if normal & didn’t have the mental capacity to ask prior to surgery. Hope this info helps but it does seem like every person’s experience is different.

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i have had a meningoma for five to six years. My neuroopthamologist has followed it up to now. i had another mri a few days ago in a specialized university eye hospital. My neuropthamologist read the images immediately and referred me to a neuro-surgeon. i have repeatedly informed most meningomas are small and grow slowly'. it seems like im now in the atypical group' im glad my neuropthamologist was able to arrange an appt this month with a top neuro-surgeon. i am anticipating the next step will be a biopsy but i dont know

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@elisabeth007

i have had a meningoma for five to six years. My neuroopthamologist has followed it up to now. i had another mri a few days ago in a specialized university eye hospital. My neuropthamologist read the images immediately and referred me to a neuro-surgeon. i have repeatedly informed most meningomas are small and grow slowly'. it seems like im now in the atypical group' im glad my neuropthamologist was able to arrange an appt this month with a top neuro-surgeon. i am anticipating the next step will be a biopsy but i dont know

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Thanks for your kind support. The radiologist report disagreed with the neuro-opthamologists interpretation of the 5/7/24 brain and orbit MRI images. Moreover, the radiologist didn’t sign the report and i am wondering if he/she is quite inexperienced…perhaps a resident? i refuse to worry about the radiologist report which says things like septic arthritis cant be ruled out and that the meningoma has not changed in size since my last MRI (about a yr ago). I made an internist appt for tomorrow to hopefully rule out the potential of “septic arthritis”. Also, my neuropthamologist is extraordinarily intelligent, resourceful and concerned about his patients (and i have been his patient for over a decade). He seems to be reaching out to his colleagues arranging highly specialized consultations and seemingly very specific, unusual and non-invasive testing. i am very fortunate to live nearby the no one rated university ophthalmology institute.

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Margie-after going through the notes in my medical file I found the notes from the radiation oncologist I had seen about possibly using radiation on my 3 cm. meningioma. (But, I ended up having it surgically removed.)
Dr. Wong said they typically grow about 1 millimeter a year. Currently, my neurosurgeon is watching 2 other meningiomas I have. (I've been told that once you have one you're more prone to have another.) One of the meningiomas is 6 mm and the other is 8mm. (They can't use radiation after 3cm.) I just had another MRI last week and it shows that over the last 2 years neither of the remaining meningiomas has grown at all. So I feel comfortable being in the watch-and-wait mode.

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