Update on My Mom

I wrote about my mom having another brain tumor in March here. She's been working with specialists and sub-specialists since then to figure out the best course of treatment. We were getting to the point where we finally saw treatment options opening up. We were hoping for the one-shot gamma knife radiation to zap the tumor. Well, some things have come up...

She has not one but possibly three tumors. And she's leaking cerebral spinal fluid down her nose and throat. This happened to her 20 years ago after her second brain tumor. It kept her in the hospital a month longer than planned while they attempted to locate and fix the leak. She also contracted meningitis due to the leak(having your brain open to germs? not a good thing). It was in the course of following the first tumor's growth (which is attached to her optic nerve, as the previous one was, too) that they discovered the second tumor, the possible third and the CSF leak. The only reason they found the leak was because my mom mentioned she had a "dripping" sensation that reminded her of the CSF leak 20 years ago. She mentioned this last Tuesday. And now the CSF leak is the most urgent problem, the first to be fixed, because of her risk of contracting other illnesses (i.e. meningitis). They won't touch the other tumors until this leak is found, sealed and healed. Can the woman please catch a break???

So, in a nutshell, what we know. The first tumor, on the optic nerve, cannot be removed with gamma knife NOR open brain surgery due to the high probability of damaging the optic nerve to the point of blindness (how they removed it before when it was on the same nerve without causing blindness is beyond me). Instead, she has to have 5-days-a-week-for-6-weeks of radiation therapy. This can only happen after the CSF leak is fixed, which they sound like they're going to have to do via open brain surgery. But, hey, good news, they say...When they're fixing the leak they'll just grab that second pesky tumor at the same time. As for the third tumor, i have no idea. I'm exhausted just typing this. I don't know how she's held up all these months with the uncertainty and anxiety surrounding this--and being told along the way that there are a few bonus problems. I can't stand it when i don't get a call back from my doctor's office over minor issues. She's been in limbo for 7 months.

She goes in this week to see a super-sub-specialist about the CSF leak. Hopefully there can be a plan of attack. She needs that. Then hopefully she'll heal well from that procedure and can move on to the next plan (radiation therapy). And then hopefully she can enjoy good health for awhile?