General Category > AN Issues

Age at time of diagnostic.

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UpstateNY:
I would agree with Clarice that the younger generation just uses the smart phones and the internet more.  I studies Computer Science in college and have worked in the field since, but am still no where near as tech savvy as the current generation. 

I also suspect many older individuals may chalk the symptoms up to being age related.  I am 50, but when I first visited an ENT Specialist with hearing issues, fullness of the ear, and balance issues, he told me I had age related hearing loss and allergies.  Only after I insisted on an MRI did we find I had a tumor.

Since an AN is 'typically' slow growing, it could be many years before the symptoms (that may be misdiagnosed as age related) become bad enough for further workup and diagnosis.  Luckily yours was found while it is still small so you can determine the best action to be taken.

Dr T:
Best wishes Ted7970. I was 29 when diagnosed over 30 years ago. I was told that was atypical, that I very young at the time. As others have said, AN is typically very slow growing and often doesn't get diagnosed until it has grown to a size where it is affecting nearby structures. Consequently people tend to be older when diagnosed. I suspect that average age is coming down somewhat due to advances in imaging techniques. As others have said, the prevalence of younger folks on the forum is probably somewhat correlated with proficiency with technology.

Kathleen_Mc:
Ted: My AN was found when I was 23, at that time the use of MRI was new and I was the youngest person found with such a large AN in the Toronto area.....that was almost 26 years ago.
Given the "small" size of your AN (not to diminish your concern about it.....anything growing in our heads is concerning regardless of size) it is likely you may live out your life span without having to have an intervention (if you don't want to and can live with the symptoms it is producing); although regular check on the state of it by MRI would be necessary.
If the tumor continues to grow you likely are candidate for gamma knife or such procedure,because of the small size, I would suggest you do some reading about this treatment for AN's.
Take care and sorry you've had to join our "club"
Kathleen

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