Hi, Darla:
I'm sorry you 'qualify' for our 'club' but here we are, all of us, so, welcome to the forum.
I would urge you to try and put your recent diagnosis of having an acoustic neuroma tumor in context. This condition
is both rare and scary but the tumors are almost always
benign (
non-cancerous) and, best of all,
treatable. As other more knowledgeable folks have already commented,
you can get through this, whether you end up with microsurgery or radiation, or both, as I did. Of course, your specific situation may permit you and your doctor(s) to 'watch-and-wait'. That is an option for some AN patients. It wasn't for me.
If your tumor size, placement and other factors require microsurgery, it likely won't last more than 8 - 12 hours, unless complications develop, which no surgeon can foresee until he or she is 'inside' your skull. Hospitalization time is generally between 3 to 5 days. Some of it will be spent in the ICU. Radiation treatment (
'Gammaknife', 'Cyberknife') - it's not really 'surgery', as no incision is made - is of shorter duration, and, of course, non-invasive, despite the misnomer 'knife'. No matter what course of action you ultimately decide on, no reputable doctor will give you outcome guarantees (only statistical 'odds') but the mortality rate for microsurgery is almost nil and with an experienced neurosurgeon, your chances of coming through surgery without any major complication are good.
I did. I also underwent FSR (
Fractionated Stereotactic Radiosurgery) as a planned follow-up to my
retrosigmoid microsurgery. The neurosurgeon removed as much of my large (4.5 cm) tumor as possible without damaging any important nerves. The radiation treatments (very small doses, 5 days per week for 5 weeks, aimed at the remaining tumor, about 2.8 cm) were performed in order to kill the remaining tumor cells and prevent re-growth. So, in effect, I had
both surgery and radiation - and came through them both just fine, and I'm not young, although I'm otherwise healthy. 8 months post-op (4 months post -radiation) and I'm pretty much back to normal. Oh, I experience a few lingering AN-related minor annoyances, but nothing that I can't deal with. I am not on any medications. I consider myself an AN 'success story'. My neurosurgeon is thrilled with my rapid initial recovery (about 6 weeks).
I'll be frank. While your initial panic is typical (and quite understandable) - it isn't really necessary. However, we wouldn't want you to be lulled into any sort of complacency, Darla. Having an AN tumor removed - by whatever method -
does carry some long-term consequences. You may not ever be
exactly the same, physically, that you were 'before'. However, with an experienced team of physicians, general good health 'going in' and of course, a positive attitude and a family support system in place, as I had, you should be fine. Yes, there really is life after a brain tumor.
Myself and many of the other members and correspondents on this forum are living proof.
I wish you all the best in the days and weeks to come.
Jim
