Author Topic: Year 5 MRI and continued progression  (Read 2581 times)

LakeErie

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Year 5 MRI and continued progression
« on: October 11, 2016, 06:33:29 pm »
Last year was four years after subtotal resection of the tumor and the remnant showed progression. On Sept 19th this year, the 5 year MRI showed further progression and the Cleveland Clinic Gamma Knife Center recommends
GK. The procedure is tomorrow morning with the MRI at 7:30 am.
The Clinic is one of the few hospitals accredited to teach GK with the Perfexion unit and one of the two doctors involved, Dr Barnett (like Dr Lundsford,) had a fellowship in GK at the Karolinska Institute, the Swedish Hospital where Lars Leksall first used GK to treat brain tumors. Barnett is also the co-director of the Gamma Knife Center and a board neurosurgeon.
The original tumor was large and had drastically thinned my facial nerve in places. That fact increases the risk of facial complications from the usual 1% of patients to 5% in Barnett's estimation. He said the facial nerve is very resilient and any weakness post treatment will be amenable to immediate steroid use, whenever the weakness arises and I will have a script for that when I leave as it must be started the first 24 hours. That all said, he does not expect complications.
After the surgery at age 65, I hoped to get 5 years without further treatment and I did just that.
 
4.7 cm x 3.6 cm x 3.2 cm vestibular schwannoma
Simplified retrosigmoid @ Cleveland Clinic 10/06/2011
Rt SSD, numbness, vocal cord and swallowing problems
Vocal cord and swallowing normalized at 16 months. Numbness persists.
Regrowth 09/19/2016
GK 10/12/2016 Cleveland Clinic
facial weakness Jan 2017

cathyroe

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Re: Year 5 MRI and continued progression
« Reply #1 on: October 12, 2016, 06:11:02 am »
Saying a little prayer for you today for your GK to have the most favorable outcome. Good luck and blessings to you!
Cathy
11/02/12  Diagnosed with AN  11mm X 5mm
05/29/13  MRI reports no change, stable
11/20/13  MRI reports 13mm X 7mm X5mm
5/20/14 MRI reports 14mm x 8 mm x 6 mm
7/29/14 GK at UPMC Lunsford. Now a Postie Toastie
1/14/15 Six Month MRI growth. 16mm X 8 mm
11/09/15  16 mm X 9 mm
9/15/16   17 mm x 11 mm x 8

LakeErie

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Re: Year 5 MRI and continued progression
« Reply #2 on: October 12, 2016, 04:10:46 pm »
thank you Cathyroe, the long day was uneventful and the treatment was deemed text book. Took longer today than estimated last Sept, but the 80 minutes passed quickly as I listened to a local sports radio station instead of the offered music. Thanks again and good luck with your issues, it seems perfect recoveries are hard to come by, but the other patients today provided perspective for me, all three of them were younger than I am and were treated for brain mets from kidney and lung cancer and melanoma. The last patient had 4 new lesions on the MRI this morning after gamma on the mets months ago for the first time. The others were unchanged.
4.7 cm x 3.6 cm x 3.2 cm vestibular schwannoma
Simplified retrosigmoid @ Cleveland Clinic 10/06/2011
Rt SSD, numbness, vocal cord and swallowing problems
Vocal cord and swallowing normalized at 16 months. Numbness persists.
Regrowth 09/19/2016
GK 10/12/2016 Cleveland Clinic
facial weakness Jan 2017