Sorry to read this
best of luck on your journey
I was diagnosed with a brain tumour on August 27th, had surgery to remove it on October 12th, found out on the 21st it was malignant (Grade II/III Anaplastic Astrocytoma) and I would require Radio therapy, 6.5 weeks which I began on the 28th of November and due to finish on the 11th of Jan 2017 and Temozolomide chemo therapy tablets (12 months) which I am due to start in Feb 2017 but these will be 5 days on and 23 days off for 12 months but a much higher dosage compared to what I am on now. 300 milligrams as opposed to 140 milligrams
I have private healthcare with Bupa through my work and I had my surgery (Awake Craniotomy) at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in Queen Square, London (part of UCH) and thankfully the Neurosurgeon was able to perform a full resection. Which means he was able to remove the entire tumour and a good margin of tissue around the tumour as well so he's given me the best possible chance. The MRI scans are actually quite shocking to look at, the before clearly shows the white blob of the tumour. Thankfully the tumour was in an accessible area of the brain. Right under the skull/right frontal lobe. The after scan shows how much the Surgeon has removed. It's amazing I have not had any functional deficit and everything is working as it should. I've been very fortunate in that sense. Unfortunately there is a chance of a recurrence even after treatment and this is something that will be with me for life. I will have to have regular scans going forward to check for any signs of tumours re-growing so they can be dealt with quickly
On a more positive note my Sister and her husband are like looking forward to their first child toward the end of February. A baby girl so I am looking forward to the arrival of my niece.
Also my Dad bought me a new watch to cheer me up. I wear it every day to my Radio therapy sessions. My wife looks after it while I'm having the daily treatment (I am on the table for a total of 1 minute per day Monday to Friday on a VMAT IMRT machine.
I also bought myself a new watch which I absolutely love. Unfortunately I cannot travel abroad (Doctors orders) until my chemo cycles are over which will mean March of 2018 at the earliest. But looking forward to wearing it when I do travel. I wear it anyway when I can tear the other IWC off my wrist
I know it's tough so if you would like to chat then please do get in touch via PM. That goes for anyone who is facing a similar situation. I have found that being open and honest about it and actually talking to people about it has helped me enormously.
All the best
Kapish
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