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Watching a Meningioma Brain Tumor
I've just been diagnosed with a 2cm meningioma tumor on the right front of my head. I am 59 years old and the surgeon has told me I will need to "do something" with my tumor someday since I am younger. What is the benefit of waiting?
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Thank you.
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2 ReactionsHi @bjh369 Always hard when we get into the waiting and watching times with our medical journeys. Plus the kinds of decisions you are having to make are incredibly difficult ones. All I can say is when my wife was presented with care options she did her best to gather all the input and information she could and then made her personal choice based on her mantra of always opting for the choice she felt was offering the best quality of life for her, even if it wasn't the one that might have meant more quantity.
Best of wishes and strength to you!
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1 ReactionI've got a watch area where a new tumor is trying to form just a bit below where they took out the 7.2cm one. They want me to go back on double temozolomide and I really don't want to and at 66 I would not like anymore surgery.
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3 Reactionsdid your NS say why you would have to wait till May for another MRI? His schedule or what reason
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what did your existing NS say would be his solution to an existing 6
cm meningioma? Did he says it was a benign grade 2 tumour? What meds does he have you on - antiseizure meds??
Hello @bosslady18769
You mentioned the possibility of getting a second opinion from a neuro-oncologist. Just wondering if you were able to get an appointment yet. Are you still troubled with migraines? How are you feeling otherwise?
Hi. I’m sorry about your diagnosis. Are you symptomatic? Is yours in the foreman magnum? I ask because you mentioned the brainstem. Foreman magnum meningiomas are very rare. I was diagnosed a year and a half ago and the only person I’ve connected to lives in Egypt.
I had a failed craniotomy last June. They got all the way in, but once they reached the tumor, it was deemed too dangerous to even biopsy. It was fully incased in nerves...like a tangled birds nest. Had he tried to get a biopsy, I would have woken up with a feeding tube and the inability to speak or swallow.
I am a professional singer/entertainer and I’m glad my surgeon made the right call. I was treated by a renowned doctor in Los Angeles. We still don’t know if it’s grade 1 or 2 or if it’s anaplastic.
My brother succumbed to anaplastic astrocytoma with glioblastoma just one month before my diagnosis. It is thought that his too started as a meningioma.
It’s been an emotional rollercoaster to ay the very least. My brother and I were very close.
I’m in the process of seeking a 3rd and 4th opinion. The craniotomy was no picnic and mine has since collapsed making the pressure even worse.
I have good days and some very bad days. I’m still working because I believe a body in motion stays in motion...but it’s getting harder. My legs and arms are getting weaker by the day and the pressure is immense. There is a major artery involved in the tumor and I fear stroking out.
I’m a tricky and difficult case. Waiting is torture but the thought of another failed surgery holds me back.
Have they discussed radiation with you?
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1 ReactionHi, I was diagnosed with 6 tumors in 2010, some large, some small, and some in iffy places. Since then I have had 2 craniotomies, 1 gamma knife, and 1 cyber knife radiation. After the 2 craniotomies, I opted for radiation on the small tumor by my brain stem, the small one on the left very close to my optic nerve, and the left-over mass & bone with tumor pressing on my right optic nerve. In 2010 I was 62 and made the decision to remove as much as possible because of my advancing age:-) My thinking was I'm healthier now:-) then I might be 10 years from now which might make surgery and recovery easier. I opted for the gamma knife and cyberknife in 2012 and 2015 because I didn't want to risk another surgery. Two seemed to be my limit. A lot of talk with husband and family, lots of prayers, advice of my neurosurgeon helped us make this very important decison, however my neuro did suggest a key-hole surgery for the tumor next to my left optic nerve. After much consideration, we decided on the gamma-knife radiation. These are huge decisions and require lots of research, etc. I know more about my brain now than I ever did, and I was able to prove to my husband that I really did have one:-) While this is a tough situation and I don't always feel good, I weigh out my blessings versus my tumors, 1000's of blessings 6 tumors, and try to find the bright side. My license plate reads, fndthfn, Find the Fun, not always easy, but do-able. I wish you all the best, we're walking this road together and as I tell my friends, "Love Will Keep Us Together". Peg
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4 ReactionsBack pain is pretty bad, I understand your pain there! I will keep you in my prayers! Hopefully you get to feeling better soon and some real good pain relief soon. Dr. Don't really listen anymore and I think its bizarre. I am definitely taking everyone's response into consideration and weighing my odds. Thank you for your response. Wish we all could live closer would be good for in person support, but since we can't be, this group is already helping me, not to feel like I'm crazy and all alone. Prayers to you my friend
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3 Reactionsdid mu reply go only to the bosslady and mrector wasn't included?