just thinking...

[wife4life]

Has anyone ever heard of anyone dying (on this forum) from AN?  what about letting it go untreated for a long period of time?
I am curious if the surgery part of this is safe and most if not all people survive?

[Jim Scott]

Has anyone ever heard of anyone dying (on this forum) from AN?

Not in the almost eight years I've been a member.

what about letting it go untreated for a long period of time?

In many cases  (mine included) a growing tumor will eventually expand enough to push against the brain stem.  This condition would inevitably cause very noticeable symptoms and if left unaddressed could conceivably cause you to cease breathing and die.  My normally cautious neurosurgeon told me in no uncertain terms: "this could kill you".  I believed him - and underwent surgery 3 weeks later. 

I am curious if the surgery part of this is safe and most if not all people survive?

It is demanding microsurgery requiring skill and experience and as such carries inherent risks.  The overall mortality rate for AN surgery is .05%.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21856684  I believe the few AN surgery patients that do not survive the surgery have other medical issues that exacerbate the normal risks of AN surgery.   The overwhelming majority not only survive the surgery but recover fairly well from it.  I'm one of those.

Jim

[Tod]

I was told that due to the size and location of my tumor I had three to six months before facing coma and death. Given that my surgery was 32 hours long, I have no trouble believing this, nor did I then.

Folks with very small tumors may stay in watch and wait for years. For some of us, that is not a good option.

-Tod