It has been two years post my retrosigmoid surgery, which followed failed GK. This gives me access to the exclusive club of ANers who had both surgery and radiation.
In spite of the two treatments, I consider myself fortunate that I haven't had to deal with major complications. Of course I am most grateful to my surgeons, Drs. Akagami and Westerberg for this. They dealt very skillfully with a difficult case and gave me hope when all the other surgeons I consulted with were talking about doom-and-gloom scenarios, about certain facial paralysis because of the previous radiation etc. None of this happened. My surgeons had to leave a sliver of the tumor surrounding the facial nerve. The remnant was not visible on the last two MRIs. Because of this I am now on a schedule of MRIs every year and a half. The next one should be scheduled in the fall. I hope that that remaining sliver will continue to behave.
Things have been back to their busy normal, since a few months after my surgery. I still have a few annoying issues, such as dry eye, and soreness along the neck/ back of the head. The latter is noticeable when the weather changes, but nothing worth complaining about.
Even though I have adjusted well to SSD, I decided to get the Phonak Cros aid, which I have been using since last year. I find that it provides for a more natural surround sound, but it does have its limitations in noisy environments.
My energy levels are back to normal. In the years prior to my diagnosis I had pronounced fatigue, which my GP always attributed to something like low iron levels, being pregnant, having small children at home etc. I am pretty sure now that all this was due to the tumor growing.
This forum has been a tremendous source of knowledge, support and encouragement. I guess this is why I still hang around here, hoping that I can also provide the same kind of support that I received when I most needed it. To all newbies researching treatment, my advice is to research as much as possible and seek the best doctors/teams possible for your treatment. We have seen many terrific outcomes here throughout the years in the hands of skilled doctors, whereas a poor choice of team may have very unpleasant results.
Marianna
