ANA Discussion Forum

Treatment Options => Radiation / Radiosurgery => Topic started by: grammyslim on April 28, 2012, 09:27:34 am

Title: SRS Radio surgery
Post by: grammyslim on April 28, 2012, 09:27:34 am

Hello everyone,

Thank you for all your prayers and concerns about my health.

We spent the day at the TX Medical Center seeing both the Radiation Oncologist and the Neuro-surgeon.
After reviewing my records I was considered a candidate for either radiation or surgery.

I asked the surgeon if he were in my shoes what would he do - his hands down response was radiation (Radio-surgery).
Here is a poll of neurosurgeons and what they would do themselves:
http://www.acousticneuroma.neurosurgery.pitt.edu/docsurvey.html 

Weighing the pros and cons of each - there is no big rush to get this done - decided sooner than later will call next week to see when I can schedule

It will be as an out patient  but a long day of preparation (and I can't eat) :( before the actual procedure.  Good news one time should take care of it, I can go home same day.  It will require follow-up MRI's and the thing will still be in there but dead.  I will not get my hearing restored and my balance will stay the same.  If you want to know more you can check out this web page:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/007274.htm

Surgical removal carries it's own set of issues - but I don't need to worry about those :).

Will let you know when I am scheduled.

Thanks again for being there for me.

Title: Re: SRS Radio surgery
Post by: chloes mema on April 28, 2012, 11:18:34 am

Good luck with your procedure.  I assume you're having GK?

I'm waiting for my start date for CK.

Thanks for posting the links, found the articles informative.

Again, good luck and keep us posted.

Karen  

Title: Re: SRS Radio surgery
Post by: leapyrtwins on April 28, 2012, 11:57:45 am

This is great information, but I still say that treatment choice is a very personal choice and it's up to you to decide (if you have options available in your particular case).

I flat out asked my doc what he'd do if he were me.  He pointed out that he was not me.

I flat out asked him to choose for me; he refused, saying that it was my choice, not his.

At first this frustrated me - okay, to be honest, it pissed me off.  But the more I investigated my options and the more I learns the pros and cons of each treatment I was offered (radiation or surgery), the more it became clear to me that he was 100% right.  When I asked him to make my choice I was looking for the easy way out of making a decision that would affect me for the rest of my life.

He knew this and he rightfully didn't take the "bait".  My respect for him, which was pretty darn high to begin with, increased 1000%.

This isn't to say that my doc never tells patients which option to take.  If he feels that one treatment is definitely better for them (based on their particular situation) he will tell a patient that.  But ultimately it's still their choice.

Jan

Title: Re: SRS Radio surgery
Post by: grammyslim on April 28, 2012, 12:24:37 pm

I agree this is personal choice thing for most of us (some of us found out to late to have a choice).  I was already heading in the radio-surgery direction so for me to read the survey results gave me a great lift.
Our AN's as different as we are - and what's good for me - may not be for the next one.  So research, research, research and get more than one opinion - reply on your instinct to make the choice that is right for you.

Title: Re: SRS Radio surgery
Post by: Kaybo on April 28, 2012, 02:50:50 pm

I would still love to chat with you if you'd like...PM me if you want to talk!

K  ;D