Watch and Wait > For those in the 'watch and wait' status

New AN patient

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janerioux:
Thank you for your all your replies.  I was getting used to the idea and learning so much and Monday I received a call that my AN may be a meningioma, treatment being the same.  Feels like a roller coaster.  I am taking advice from the ANA and seeking a second opinion and continuing to educate myself. 

rodneyd:
Hi Jane,

I was diagnosed with a 9 mm AN in October, 2013.  My initial reaction was to have that rascal surgically removed.  But I started having second thoughts and decided Cyberknife was the treatment option for me.  But I still have some hearing in my AN ear, and there was a real possibility that that hearing would be lost due to the radiation treatment, so I decided to stay on W & W to see what the growth rate would be for a small AN such as mine.

In June, 2015, there was an article in the AN newsletter about research conducted by the Mass Eye and Ear Hospital showing that taking one baby aspirin per day can help retard the growth of the AN.  This research had been reviewed by the ANA Physicians panel and was recommended by them as being safe and hopefully helpful.  I figured one baby aspirin per day also has other befenicial health benefits so why not begin taking one. 

My AN grew slightly until my last MRI in July, 2017, when it was discovered that the tumor shrank by 31%.  Needless to say, I was ecstatic about the results.  Was it due to the baby aspirin regimen?  Who knows.  But I felt it was better to take the aspirin than to do nothing at all. 

Anyway, I will be very interested in seeing the results of my next MRI in July, 2018.

I just saw a research article that suggested a drug called mifepristone, a drug used to chemically induce abortions, is 80% effective in retarding AN cell growth in a labrotory setting.  Mass Eye and Ear is about ready to start clinical trials on this drug, which has already received FDA approval for the aboution process.  Hopefully, these trials will prove the drug effective and then it might be prescribed for AN patients (who are not pregnant!).  It would be great to someday take a pill and retard or reduce the size of the AN.

Rod

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