Pre-Treatment Options > Pre-Treatment Options
Starting Point for Newly Diagnosed
Kate B:
Welcome to this forum. If you are here as a newly diagnosed person or one related to a newly diagnosed person, you have come to the right place. You will soon learn that there exist several types of treatments which can become overwhelming. This is a wonderful place to gather information that can be used in the decision making process.
To assist you in your journey, there are several tools that may help you along the way.
1. A guide to the decision making process is a thread on this board. There are questions to use that can help you narrow your choices. http://anausa.org/forum/index.php?topic=5786.0
2. Questions to ask the Doctor: I found it absolutely necessary to come in prepared with a list of questions to ask the doctor. Otherwise the doctors say what they want to say and are out of the room before you have a chance to digest what they have said and then to gather your thoughts enough to ask intelligent questions.The beauty of it is that you can print it out as many times as is necessary and there is a space for you to write notes.
http://anworld.com/questions/
3. Information to the ANWORLD website
http://anausa.org/forum/index.php?topic=5829.0 7. Several years ago, four patients compiled a website condensing information about treatments. The authors come from different vantage points. One is wait and watch status, One underwent radiosurgery, one had retrosigmoid, and one had middle fossa. It is a great starting point for those beginning their AN Journey. It was written to assist newly diagnosed patients. It includes explanations of the types of treatments, AN centers around the world, questions to ask the doctor for each of the treatments, and much more.
4. I have compiled a chart comparing some of the outcomes related to each procedure. It is an attempt to look at the patterns of outcomes related to various treatments (Send me a personal message and I will send you a copy of the chart)
5. The ANA organization and the Willing to Talk forum as mentioned in the thread http://anausa.org/forum/index.php?topic=3252.0
6. All of us on this site who are willing to share their personal experiences!
7. There is also a discussion forum available in which different points of view are offered.
http://www.anworld.com/mailinglist/
Good luck as you begin your information search.
Kate
ppearl214:
Hi Kate and thanks.... great links and valuable info....
Please know that the ANA does not endorse these websites and all final info should be discussed soley with your own treating physicians.
Phyl
Kate B:
Hi Phyl,
Yes, each person's journey is unique.
I agree, that no medical decision should be based on any of our comments or any one website. It is a decision to be made that reflects a person's own situation after consultation with their doctor. The key of course is that an informed patient can work in conjunction with the doctor.
This site (www.anworld.com) is just another source of information for others to use. Just as you were able to access the questions, it is one of many tools on the site that newbies can use.
Again, thank you for your kind words to me and the others on this site.
Kindest Regards,
Kate
Kate B:
Here is a website that may also be helpful that gives explanation about acoustic neuromas as related to size and other descriptions.
Overview of AN’s: http://www.emedicine.com/ent/topic239.htm
Kate
macintosh:
This emedicine site has been posted to this forum before, and several of us objected to it as an unbalanced, prosurgery, anti-radiosurgery site. It is not a peer-reviewed study. I'm not sufficiently computer-savvy to post a link in this message to the last round of discussion of this site, but if you put the link in the search box for this forum, you will come to that discussion.
The best material to consult before making a decision is peer-reviewed scholarly literature.
Mac
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