ANA Discussion Forum
Treatment Options => Radiation / Radiosurgery => Topic started by: jfspainter on December 11, 2012, 05:48:37 pm
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I am inclined to think that Ans are much more prevalent than we think. Every time I open my mouth about this some one says "Oh, I had a friend with this". Today was a jack pot of 5. 4 were from one person alone. How many of you experience this?
Two years ago I told my dentist my tongue felt abnormal with a sort of tingling and numb on my left side. I did have GK radiation on Aug 2 2012. Friday I went for a cleaning and told her that my AN was the result of my numb tongue. She had no idea what an AN was. She probably will never have another patient with this but I told her if one came in with a complaint to tell her to go see her/his physician and pre-call the physician with a suggestion it maybe an AN. She promised me she would go look it up. I had my cleaned teeth last year and didn't my filling because I was even number and she sent me to my physician who didn't pick up on it either until last June when I claimed balance and tinnitus issues.
I am 4 1/2 months out of treatment and still have numb left side face totally numb teeth on said side but more so. Hopefully January will bring the swelling down and ease the symptoms. MRI due the end of January.
So my feeling while many of us don't have the same symptoms we should spread the word.
Of course many must be walking around with no idea.
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Funny, I had asked my dentist about the loss if sensation to my face, had asked if my wisdom teeth coming in would do that, he mearly said "no" and never said anything more like " you should see your GP about this".....of course this was when the bugger was huge and displacing the posterior lobe of the other side and this is what was causing the loss of facial sensation, I mentioned it to a GP and he got the ball rolling that lead to DX however he thought I had MS.
I do not know anyone personally who has had one or knows someone else who has had one. They are being diagnosed more frequently now though than they used to be thanks to the MRI!
Kathleen
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I was at a party on Sunday 23rd and was was talking to an older gentleman. I asked if he could speak up as I have no hearing my left ear and compromised hearing my right from the mumps when I was 5. I do lip read thank heavens. I told him I lost my left hearing from an AN. Darned if he didn't say the same thing! I couldn't believe it. Again I don't think it's as rare as they say. So of course our conversation detoured to the AN. Made my evening!
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Approximately 3000 cases of AN are diagnosed each year in the US.
Worldwide, about 1 in every 100,000 people have one.
I got that from Wikipedia. ;D
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Approximately 3000 cases of AN are diagnosed each year in the US.
Worldwide, about 1 in every 100,000 people have one.
I got that from Wikipedia.
If the 3000 number is accurate, as I believe it is, that is an infinitesimal number of AN cases per year (U.S.. population is approximately 320,000,000). At that rate, we're fortunate that there are so many skilled surgeons around the country that are familiar with and can operate on acoustic neuroma patients, usually with much success. It also indicates that finding a lot of AN patients in any social situation is definitely an anomaly.
Jim
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The incidence of AN's is often accepted as being around 1 per 100,000 people per year.
Some of the latest research is showing the incidence to be around 1.9 per 100,000 per year.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20871439
Given an average life span of 80 years thats 152 people per 100,000 in a lifetime, or about 1 in 650 people.
Many more AN's probably go undetected or undiagnosed.. Autopsy studies are showing even higher incidence.. around 0.7-0.8% of the population. Many are asymptomatic, causing no problems whatsoever.