What a mixed day.......
We saw the neuro-oncology registrar and had a long chat about radiotherapy, side effects and so on. Just about to sign the consent form when the consultant neuro-oncologist comes in and..............a complete U turn!
Having worked myself up for yesterday my head's all over the place. In summary though......
We only have one snap shot MRI of the tumour, very limited symptoms for the location of the tumour and a biopsy confirming the cell structure as a grade 2 astrocytoma. The radiology is a one shot treatment which will stun the growth of the tumour, but quite rightly the consultant points out, "what's the point of stunning something if it's not actually growing?". He has a point and a good one at that, but the thought of doing nothing whilst waiting for the next MRI is really quite scary as a prospect.
As a positive, I'm quite sure he wouldn't risk a life threatening situation through inaction and I can at least take solace from the fact that he obviously thinks it's either static or very slow growing. This is supported in my experience by the lack of further development of the symptoms. they are there, but they don't seem to be getting worse either in frequency or strength.
As part of the watching brief, I'm now booked in for an MRI, EEG, opthalmic assessment and neurological assessment. I assume this is so we can form our baseline from which we can watch for developments.
I don't know whether to be happy or not. Subconciously I desperately want treatment, but I'm aware that not needing treatment yet can only be a good thing. In the mean time work won't let me do anythiong through fear, and the delays in treatment will surely delay my attempts to seek a resolution from the CAA.
Oh well, I have bought a really swish computer for my flight simulator games now and I've got lots of time for my Open University course.
Regards,
VFR