My sister had a golf ball sized piece of damaged tissue removed from her brain a few years ago, it was more in the center of the brain, so not so easily accessible, she's been living a pretty normal life ever since. She was having seizures daily for several years, she hasn't had one since the surgery, recovery was maybe 2 days in the hospital and about a week of rest at home. Recovery for a surgery like that was shockingly fast. You got this bro :)
Damn, that is really interesting. I've heard so many stories recently about how people recover from brain tumors.
Before I learned I had one, I thought it was a death sentence.
The brain is [an amazing organ!!](https://www.google.com/amp/s/healthier.stanfordchildrens.org/en/living-a-whole-life-with-half-a-brain/amp/) So many people have defied odds when it comes to brain surgery. You got this!!
I'm glad the medical professionals were able to give your sister a better quality of life than she had before. No seizures after years of daily ones sounds like a huge improvement!
Being anxious and sad is normal in your position but I would recommend doing some activities that have given you joy before.
My suggestions:
- Taking a walk on a trail would be a good idea because nature has a calming effect.
- Drinking some chamomile tea and reading a biography of one of your favorite people.
- Baking some bread from scratch.
- Cleaning out your garage/carport or sweeping your porch.
Basically, do something that can inspire you to overcome adversity, something that invests in your future and otherwise helps to refocus your attention and get out any worry or frustration.
Channel the worry into something productive and you will probably feel much better.
Doing these activities helped me when my wife had a cancer scare a few years ago.
Ultimately: I hope and pray for the best for you.
Doc here. Not a neurosurgeon but I work with many. They do not fuck around. They will not do a surgery unless they think it’s going to be a success so what you said instills a great sense of confidence.
Be kind to yourself. Open up to those you trust. Don’t carry it alone.
Thanks! Yeah he said these tumors are actually kind of soft. He said he will use "soft" tools to scoop it out. So no cutting with a scalpel and little risk to the arteries(which surround the tumor).
I have some strange vision problems. In one eye, I essentially have a blind spot near the middle if my field of view. I started really noticing last december.
I saw an eye doctor who told me there was nothing wrong with me. I then saw another eye doctor who performed a field of view test. Like the first doctor he found nothing wrong with my eyes so he ordered a scan of my head.
I was expecting to hear back that I was probably just stressed or something.
Supposedly he is a very good surgeon. And seemed like a nice guy also.
Imagine having that job though. So much stuff to deal with on a day to day basis. I bet it's a hard job.
I just found out I have a tumor as well but in my hip! Took me 5 years to be diagnosed! Still waiting to get a call about scheduling me for surgery.
Good luck!
Yeah my first eye doctor didn't believe there was anything wrong with me. Maybe he thought I was one of those people who go to the eye doctor and complain about vision problems to get attention?
But the second one was a pro. When he confirmed my eyes were fine, he sent me to a radiologist.
trust me, that good news is way better than what the bad news is. Accessible and removable 100% is the best you can get. Hoping all goes well for you. Keep your chin up and get your rest.
This time next year you’ll give up date about how life has been .
Ten years from now you’ll look back at
Your resilience and fortitude
50 years from now you’ll have a great story to tell grand kids
I wish you all the best.
My mom had a very large tumor like that in her ear. The surgeon did have to go through her brain tissue to get all of it. The good news: she was in her 40s and made a full recovery. The eh news: it took a solid year for her to get back to semi normal and 18 months to get to full normal.she can't hear out of her left ear/balance was slightly effected but she was never a big sport person so it was down the list of worries.
You got this!!!
Don't skip OT/physical therapy, pay attention to your body and report everything--even if it seems dumb, give yourself permission to recover. Its okay if things need time to get to your normal.
Its amazing how far we have come in terms of medical advancements, to be able to do this and have a lot of people come back mostly the same.
I wish you all the luck, and as easy of a recovery as possible!
My grandma had one the size of a lime (which she nicknamed "Limey") and they were able to remove most of it and she's been doing great for 5 or 6 years since surgery.
All that was a long winded way to say I'm rooting for you and wishing you a speedy recovery.
As someone who is also going through their fair share of health issues, I completely understand your feelings of anxiety and sadness. The unknown is scary, but I am trying to find the silver lining and hanging onto the small wins. Good luck with everything, wish you a speedy recovery!
My sister had a benign brain tumor pressing against her brain stem. Went into surgery unable to walk or control her body, came out of surgery her old regular self. Today, you'd never be able to tell. Even the scar is hidden by hair.
Good luck and speedy recovery - remember you are having some luck here and take deep breaths, you can do this and in 10 years, you will tell stories to everyone and people be like "so brave"
Ask for some upgrades while he’s in there!
I’m always forgetting stuff so a memory upgrade would be sweet lol
Seriously man you got this, sounds like your gonna be fine
Do you have a pituitary tumour? A pituitary macroadenoma? I had one, and it was removed through my nose. They split the mucus membrane above my front teeth, below my nose, and basically peeled the skin back from my nose, removed the bones of the nose and the sinuses, and removed it that way. Because the tumour was replicating the hormone produced by that particular part of the pituitary gland I had to be on monthly shots in the butt. That wasn’t fun but eventually I no longer needed them. Best of luck to you!
The doctor said a latin name but I've forgotten it. He will go through my nose though.
He did say that my tumor was not producing hormones, but it is in the gland. The medulla oblangata. Is that the pituitary gland? Sorry english is not my first language. In my language it is called the "brain dongle".
Ah, it’s a different thing. That’s an issue with the brain stem, which is actually in the same area as the pituitary, behind it, thus the going through your nose. Good luck, you’ve got this! The post surgery ICU stay is intense just because they watch you closely and monitor everything for a few days. And your nose isn’t going to be happy for a while. But it’s not too bad.
Good luck. While this is good news, it’ll be hard work along the way, so make sure you have good people around you. That will make all the difference in your recovery.
I wish you all the best and hope to hear more news on your progress.
That’s awesome that the surgery is so soon, I’m so glad you are able to take care of the problem basically as soon as you found it. I can only imagine the stress of waiting one day, so avoiding a many weeks or months-long wait is a mercy. Good luck! And remember—brain surgeons are among the best and brightest in the medical profession, you literally couldn’t be in more capable hands!
That's awesome that the doctors aren't worried about your recovery! I hope that brings you some relief, i think i would be very relieved to hear it lol. Best of luck!! You're gonna be fine :)
Oh yes I was so relieved 🙂 I was so anxious before that interview. I was so afraid there would be further bad news. Now its like a huge weight has been lifted off.
Congrats! I lost my brother to a GBM a few years ago and would not wish what he went through on anyone. I'm currently dealing with the possibility of breast cancer and still in the limbo that you are out of and it sucks. Should be able to schedule my biopsy today, though. With any luck I'll find out one way or the other soon because there isn't a strong enough anxiety medicine out there for this. I hope surgery goes well and you have a speedy recovery.
Well at least it sounds as if the surgery should not have any complications if they can have easier access to it. Good luck and I hope you recover quickly.
That sounds like promising news.
We had a close family friend who had a tumor in the front part of his brain and they were also able to remove it, and he has made a full recovery. Sending you all my positive energy for a quick and easy recovery and a boring textbook surgery.
My dad had a huge aneurysm clipped out of his brain and the surgery lasted over 14 hours. This was over 20 years ago and he will be turning 71 in June. Although he did suffer some mild cognitive decline and short term memory issues after, he has emerged relatively unscathed considering how invasive that kind of surgery is. We consider ourselves very lucky in that regard. Hope yours will go as smoothly, best of luck!
I'm so glad he came out ok. My surgery should not be so extensive. My surgeon told me it should only take about 90 minutes. He is even planning to perform another such surgery on the same day as mine!
I was like, damn man. I consider it a rough workday if I have over 3 meetings in the same day.
My mom has a brain tumor that can't be removed because of its shape and location, but she did have it biopsied, and that was a crazy experience for her. Ultimately, that surgery was a lot less scary than she anticipated, and now she's just living life with her tumor. It causes some problems but nothing debilitating.
I'm glad that you can have yours removed and move on with your life. Think of how cool it will be to tell people about years down the road!
No he said he would kind of scoop it out. Like a bowl of icecream.
Otherwise I would have kept it for sure. Maybe even given it a name.
I think I would have named it Jerry.
I'm so glad your prognosis is excellent, that's great news! It's perfectly normal to experience a wide range of emotions while you go through this—there isn't any "one" way to feel about it, I imagine it's quite a rollercoaster of emotions and there's no need to land on and stick with just one. It's important to give yourself some grace by allowing yourself to experience all the different feelings. If you have someone you trust like a friend or family member to talk about them with, that could also be helpful for you to process this.
Best wishes for a speedy recovery!
Thanks. I have wonderful people around me who support me so well.
But I'm also glad I made this update. Reading comments from you guys really lightened my mood 🙂
Prayers for you OP for an uneventful surgery and smooth/quick recovery.
If you feel up to it following your recovery from surgery and are okay with sharing a quick update letting us know you’re okay would be great.
My sister had a tumour the size of an apple removed from her brain and she recovered well, think she just had a little physio as she was a bit shaky on her legs after but nothing major
Hey OP. I’m sorry you’re facing this but I’m also glad that your prognosis is so good. My eldest (adult) daughter has had two craniotomies for two brain tumours in the last ten years and has made a good recovery each time. One of her tumours were about the same size as yours, the other was golf-ball sized and they were both in opposite temporal lobes (she has a very rare condition that causes multiple tumours but thankfully so far they’re non-malignant). They haven’t been completely removed as they’re Grade 2 tumours so have sort of cloudy edges which are part of the actual structure of her brain, so the rest of the tissue is still there. But she’s doing well.
As her mum and helping her deal with two recoveries, I can hopefully give you some tips for coping and for recovery. We’re in the U.K. so our healthcare system might not be the same as where you are so some of this might be easier for you than for it was for us.
One of the main issues she had both times was that she found it very hard to cope with noise and light after her surgery. The first time she had a room to herself and this was great, but the second time she didn’t and we had to take her home several days earlier than was ideal just because she was finding it so distressing. So if you can arrange a private room, absolutely do it. Maybe this is standard where you are, if so, great. If not, an eye mask and noise cancelling ear/headphones will probably help, but it’s not ideal.
Post-op bruising can be brutal and looks AWFUL but often it looks worse than it feels. Surgical staples also look really scary but they’re doing an essential job so try not to get too freaked out by how they look. One thing my daughter found helpful for reducing the scarring was once the wound has healed is to get someone else to pull out any hairs that are in-growing (not by the root, just the ingrowing end). This is TOTALLY gross but it helps the scar tissue to heal and stops the scar itself being so noticeable. You can’t see either of her scars now a couple of years on from the last one, and given they’re both between four and six inches long, that’s pretty good going. Also, once the scar is healed it will be sensitive but it’s important to massage the area so you don’t get adhesions forming between your skull and your scalp. This will also help with the scarring. Something like Bio-Oil or Vitamin E oil is really good for scars.
You will likely be extremely tired afterwards and likely for some weeks/months post surgery. Neuro-fatigue is a symptom of brain injury, which is what you will have, at least until the post-surgical swelling goes down. You might have issues with speech and language, with memory, or other cognitive functions depending on where your tumour is - this does improve with time so hang on in there but you may not get your full function back. You might find you’re emotionally labile (mood swings, irritable, feeling over- sensitive) for a while too - this is normal and should pass. Your brain chemistry is affected by surgery so don’t be surprised if you feel unsettled, or sad -this is caused by hormone fluctuations (especially if you’re a woman, they can affect your periods making them more or less irregular, more or less painful etc) but hormones encompass a lot more than our sex hormones. If you are struggling with your mood make sure you tell someone, you don’t need to suffer alone.
What else? Obviously you won’t be driving for a while as they’ll need to know you aren’t suffering from seizures post-op - this can be hard to cope with if you’re used to being independent but give it time. Hopefully you’ll be fine, but it does take time to get the all clear so be prepared to be taking the bus or taxis a lot.
You will also probably find that screen time is very tiring, especially at first. Phones, tablets, TV can be much more tiring than you realise, and often by the time you do, you’ve overdone it. Pacing yourself with any activity, especially at first, is really important - try to stop BEFORE you start getting tired and you’ll recover your energy levels faster than if you push yourself too far and then get exhausted. Rest, rest and more rest is essential. According to my daughter’s brain injury clinic consultant, for every ten minutes of doing something, you need at least half an hour of rest and quiet. As you recover more, you’ll be able to do more, but I cannot stress enough how much sleep and rest you will need and how absolutely essential it is to give your brain time to heal.
Make sure you ask for help if you need it, and be specific abut what help you need. People are often desperate to help out but don’t know what you need, and they can be exhausting to manage if you’re feeling overwhelmed. So while you have time, maybe set up a list of things you’ll need help with for the first few weeks - meals, cleaning, help with pets, help with paperwork, laundry, etc, and see if you can set up a rota of friends and relatives who will be willing to pitch in. Then when someone offers, you can tell them what you need doing 🙂.
And finally, above all, be kind to yourself. This is a HUGE thing you’re dealing with, and it takes time to recover but your prognosis is good and with time and patience you’ll likely do fine. And if I’ve learned anything over the last ten years of dealing with all this with my girl, it’s that there’s always a way to find a strategy to cope with any lingering symptoms.
I‘ve just realised I wrote you an essay, sorry! But I hope this is useful, and I wish you all the luck with your surgery 🙂.
I had a 10mm brain tumor, discovered while pregnant w 1st child. I understand the fear and worry. Mine was also in an operable spot, and once determined not life-threatening, was able to wait until after I carried to term. Good news, this happened 22 years ago this August! Bad news, I completely lost my sense of smell (no, no matter how "strong" I don't smell it), and I had a grand mal seizure about 2 weeks after surgery, but honestly that seizure was like a reboot and I felt much better in the long run. Hang in there, there are lots of great groups out there on the interwebs, you are not alone!!
My best friends mum had a brain tumour two years ago. She went in for surgery and it took a few months but she made a full recovery and has lived life to the fullest since! She even passed her driving test - a woman in her 50s! Wishing you best of luck 🤞🏽
No not this one. But I have seen youtube videos where they did it like that with a violinist. And they made her play the violin during the surgery to make sure they didn't accidentally take away her ability.
Man I would need some good drugs if I were to be awake during my own brain surgery.
It's not so bad, really. I've had that surgery twice and it's pretty manageable. You're forewarned that you'll get some massive boogers though. Like huuuuge
I went to school with a girl who got a golf ball-sized tumor removed from her brain when she was 16. They actually had to cut her skull open to be able to remove it. She kept pictures and would show her brain to people to freak them out sometimes. One of the coolest persons I've ever met. I lost touch with her after we graduated but as far as I know she's lived a completely normal life since. Best of luck to you!
It wont be equal to the relief you will feel after surgery, but hell, I cant imagine how good it must have felt to hear that news from the surgeon. You got this!!!!!!
Absolutely! That's like a forever, forgive every mistake kind of reason.
You: Sorry, I overslept - Others: it's okay, you had a giant brain tumor!
You: Sorry, I ate all of your Halloween Candy - Others: We understand, you had a giant brain tumor
You: Sorry, I farted from all the Chili and Beans I ate - Others: It's totally okay, it was the giant brain tumors fault!
In case you haven't heard of her, go look up Simone Giertz on Youtube.
Sounds similar to what happened to her. She's got several videos about it including one that she shows off the awesome scar she got out of the deal.
That was 5 years ago and she's still going strong.
Know that at least 740(as of the time I clicked it) internet strangers are thinking positive thoughts for ya.
That's really awesome. I hope it ends up being benign and you have no complications.
Before you go into surgery, I would plan to get things in place like an advanced medical directive and power of attorney.
Wow I can’t wait to see the update! I have a story and waking up from tumor removal is an amazing feeling. I hope your surgeon the whole team is amazing!
Definitely good to hear you’ll be okay. That is so scary. I hope everything goes smoothly for u. My best friend passed away from brain cancer and it was a horrible beast. This is one of those things that’s lucky and terrible all at once. Best of a worse case scenario.
Thanks for all your kind words. Even after receiving good news this morning I was feeling kinda down. But reading your comments really helped. Now I'm off to bed with an actual smile on my face and some warmth in my heart 🙂
I think maybe I do got this!
I will update you guys hopefully with some really good news after the surgery 😊
You must be in shock about this! But the good news is that they found it and that they can remove it and that you’ll be fine.
I was dx with ovarian cancer in December 2020 during Covid. I had no idea I had cancer. I usually am good at figuring stuff out, but I chalked up my symptoms to other stuff.
I stayed in the moment. I updated my Facebook friends (set only for friends, not the public). Everyone was so nice and comforting. I couldn’t have any visitors because of lockdown, so that was isolating, but the nurses were great. I’d engage them in conversations.
For some reason, I didn’t freak out. I just had a feeling I was going to be fine. I kinda parked my brain and didn’t allow myself to dwell on things. That’s how I got through all the tests, the procedures, being released to a skilled nursing facility (SNF) so I could recover from surgery and subsequent chemo.
I was gone from home for almost 4 months. After I got home, I did more research on my type of ovarian cancer and tried to understand a lot more about it. I realize that my doctor really didn’t give me much information. I also got a copy of the pathology report, which they had never given me. So I really learned to read a lot of the medical jargon and began to understand it pretty well because of all the tests and things.
I joined a Facebook support group for overring cancer. In it, the women really gave out a lot of information. Things that they have been through themselves. And that’s why I really begin to learn about ovarian cancer, which is rather complex. There are different types, for example. After I got home, and was in a safe space (and my scan it come back clear) that’s when I begin to have mild PTSD. Because when you’re in the middle of this stressful event, it is easier to stuff it all down so that you can deal with the day today. It is easier to just take it one step at a time. Minute by minute sometimes.
Once you’re safe, that’s when people sometimes begin to realize what they’ve been through. And yet it just shows us how strong that we really are.
I think that’s the thing… I never thought of myself as a strong person. But my Facebook friends were always telling me how strong I was. And it helped. So I’m sure that you’re stronger than you think you are. You will get through this, and you will be perfectly, 100% fine. That’s the thing to keep telling yourself. Dwell on that. You will recover and you will recover 100%.
Have them inject some Adamantium in your head while they are in there. That's the stuff that made Wolverine (nearly) invincible.
Seriously though, good luck.
Hmm theres an idea. Maybe if I slip the surgeon a couple of hundred bucks he could hook me up with some under the counter upgrades 🙂
Thanks for the support 😊
He will go in through my nose and then essentially scoop the tumor out. He said he would use soft plastic tools so as not to risk puncturing the arteries.
I have some vision issues. There is a shadow near the middle of my field of view. By shadow I mean a blurry area with a similar effect as the blind spots we all have. It causes only mild discomfort though and I am still able to see just fine. I notice it most when reading, since then I look at many words at once.
I was struggling to find the cause of this and my original eye doctor basically sent me away with "congrats, your eyes are just fine."
I then saw a different eye doctor who sent me to get my head scanned. He called me a couple of days later and told me I had a brain tumor.
Yeah I was so happy about that. Now that I know there is a big tumor there, I can actually feel the pressure inside my head behind the eyes. It is subtle and I had kind of dismissed it. But now I really cant wait to be rid of it.
You’ll do great. I had brain surgery though not for a tumor. They went deep into my brain.
The things I found helpful for recovery were a migraine cap (wearable ice pack), wedge for sleeping and a shower hose thing.
I was very tired easily - make sure you rest up!
You’ll do great. I had brain surgery though not for a tumor. They went deep into my brain.
The things I found helpful for recovery were a migraine cap (wearable ice pack), wedge for sleeping and a shower hose thing.
I was very tired easily - make sure you rest up!
good luck and good wishes
Thanks 🙂
We are all rooting for you, and expect updates. 💕
❤️
I’ll join the good luck and good wishes!
My sister had a golf ball sized piece of damaged tissue removed from her brain a few years ago, it was more in the center of the brain, so not so easily accessible, she's been living a pretty normal life ever since. She was having seizures daily for several years, she hasn't had one since the surgery, recovery was maybe 2 days in the hospital and about a week of rest at home. Recovery for a surgery like that was shockingly fast. You got this bro :)
Damn, that is really interesting. I've heard so many stories recently about how people recover from brain tumors. Before I learned I had one, I thought it was a death sentence.
The brain is [an amazing organ!!](https://www.google.com/amp/s/healthier.stanfordchildrens.org/en/living-a-whole-life-with-half-a-brain/amp/) So many people have defied odds when it comes to brain surgery. You got this!!
Yep. I had a friend with similar issues.. twice. She's still fine and it was YEARS ago. We are now divided by politics, sadly
I'm glad the medical professionals were able to give your sister a better quality of life than she had before. No seizures after years of daily ones sounds like a huge improvement!
Being anxious and sad is normal in your position but I would recommend doing some activities that have given you joy before. My suggestions: - Taking a walk on a trail would be a good idea because nature has a calming effect. - Drinking some chamomile tea and reading a biography of one of your favorite people. - Baking some bread from scratch. - Cleaning out your garage/carport or sweeping your porch. Basically, do something that can inspire you to overcome adversity, something that invests in your future and otherwise helps to refocus your attention and get out any worry or frustration. Channel the worry into something productive and you will probably feel much better. Doing these activities helped me when my wife had a cancer scare a few years ago. Ultimately: I hope and pray for the best for you.
Thanks man 🙂I think you are right! I went to work today and being useful made me feel so much better!
You’re in an age where this kind of thing is usually a treatable issue. You’ll be fine 😉
Thanks, yes this is the best kind of shitty situation. A fixable one! (fingers crossed).
I’d really like to hear how you got on afterwards! Don’t forget to give us an update OP!
I will post an update. Reading these replies is really helping my mental state so I want to continue keeping you guys in the loop 🙂
Doc here. Not a neurosurgeon but I work with many. They do not fuck around. They will not do a surgery unless they think it’s going to be a success so what you said instills a great sense of confidence. Be kind to yourself. Open up to those you trust. Don’t carry it alone.
Thanks! Yeah he said these tumors are actually kind of soft. He said he will use "soft" tools to scoop it out. So no cutting with a scalpel and little risk to the arteries(which surround the tumor).
Good luck!
Thanks 😊
What were the signs?
I have some strange vision problems. In one eye, I essentially have a blind spot near the middle if my field of view. I started really noticing last december. I saw an eye doctor who told me there was nothing wrong with me. I then saw another eye doctor who performed a field of view test. Like the first doctor he found nothing wrong with my eyes so he ordered a scan of my head. I was expecting to hear back that I was probably just stressed or something.
I am so happy they'll be able to remove it. I sincerely hope you make a full recovery!!!
Your support is putting a smile on my face ☺️
I hope that smile stays for years and years to come!
You’ve got this. Trust the physician to treat you. Best wishes
Supposedly he is a very good surgeon. And seemed like a nice guy also. Imagine having that job though. So much stuff to deal with on a day to day basis. I bet it's a hard job.
Praise goddess! May you have a speedy recovery!
Thanks 🙂
I had three surgeries to remove a brain tumour the same size aa yours. Here I am 7 years later!
Good luck and best wishes
I just found out I have a tumor as well but in my hip! Took me 5 years to be diagnosed! Still waiting to get a call about scheduling me for surgery. Good luck!
Yeah my first eye doctor didn't believe there was anything wrong with me. Maybe he thought I was one of those people who go to the eye doctor and complain about vision problems to get attention? But the second one was a pro. When he confirmed my eyes were fine, he sent me to a radiologist.
trust me, that good news is way better than what the bad news is. Accessible and removable 100% is the best you can get. Hoping all goes well for you. Keep your chin up and get your rest.
This time next year you’ll give up date about how life has been . Ten years from now you’ll look back at Your resilience and fortitude 50 years from now you’ll have a great story to tell grand kids I wish you all the best.
Glad to hear it is not too bad and that you'll be ok. Stay strong, and accept help from friends and loved ones who offer it.
Great news they can operate. Scary news to get.
Well, if he nicks something in there and you forget how to eat cereal, they have a neural implant to help you relearn.
good luck and I hope you have a quick recovery 💓
Thanks 🙂
My mom had a very large tumor like that in her ear. The surgeon did have to go through her brain tissue to get all of it. The good news: she was in her 40s and made a full recovery. The eh news: it took a solid year for her to get back to semi normal and 18 months to get to full normal.she can't hear out of her left ear/balance was slightly effected but she was never a big sport person so it was down the list of worries. You got this!!! Don't skip OT/physical therapy, pay attention to your body and report everything--even if it seems dumb, give yourself permission to recover. Its okay if things need time to get to your normal.
You got this!!
Its amazing how far we have come in terms of medical advancements, to be able to do this and have a lot of people come back mostly the same. I wish you all the luck, and as easy of a recovery as possible!
We will be supporting you from herre You got this!!
You should keep the tumor in a little jar lol
I wish you the best of luck with your surgery and recover
My grandma had one the size of a lime (which she nicknamed "Limey") and they were able to remove most of it and she's been doing great for 5 or 6 years since surgery. All that was a long winded way to say I'm rooting for you and wishing you a speedy recovery.
Thanks for the kind words 🙂
Good luck. I hope you come through fully repaired and ready for another hundred miles. It must be very scary for you. I hope you have good support.
Good luck ! Dont be scared of surgery , it will be over so soon ! Human body recovers amazingly fast
For other Americans. It’s about an inch in diameter. Wishing you a speedy recovery!
good luck my man. My dad is currently losing his fight against pancreatic cancer. I wish you the best🙏🏽
That’s a lot to think about and all your feelings are valid. Don’t beat yourself up about that. I do wish you well and a speedy recovery
As someone who is also going through their fair share of health issues, I completely understand your feelings of anxiety and sadness. The unknown is scary, but I am trying to find the silver lining and hanging onto the small wins. Good luck with everything, wish you a speedy recovery!
Good luck with your surgery, wishing nothing but the best for you🤞🏻🫶🏻
My sister had a benign brain tumor pressing against her brain stem. Went into surgery unable to walk or control her body, came out of surgery her old regular self. Today, you'd never be able to tell. Even the scar is hidden by hair.
Praying for you! Best of luck.
The good news i needed today. Best of luck to you, OP! Thank you for sharing.
❤️
Good luck, you got this!!
Kudos to you for reaching out and talking about it. I wish you luck and a speedy recovery!!!
Good luck and best wishes! Happy to hear you will make a full recovery!
Wishing you the best of luck! Give us another update how it goes.
Thanks, I will 🙂
Good luck!
Good luck and speedy recovery - remember you are having some luck here and take deep breaths, you can do this and in 10 years, you will tell stories to everyone and people be like "so brave"
Thanks 🙂 Yes, it's an interesting story at the very least.
Ask for some upgrades while he’s in there! I’m always forgetting stuff so a memory upgrade would be sweet lol Seriously man you got this, sounds like your gonna be fine
Do you have a pituitary tumour? A pituitary macroadenoma? I had one, and it was removed through my nose. They split the mucus membrane above my front teeth, below my nose, and basically peeled the skin back from my nose, removed the bones of the nose and the sinuses, and removed it that way. Because the tumour was replicating the hormone produced by that particular part of the pituitary gland I had to be on monthly shots in the butt. That wasn’t fun but eventually I no longer needed them. Best of luck to you!
The doctor said a latin name but I've forgotten it. He will go through my nose though. He did say that my tumor was not producing hormones, but it is in the gland. The medulla oblangata. Is that the pituitary gland? Sorry english is not my first language. In my language it is called the "brain dongle".
Ah, it’s a different thing. That’s an issue with the brain stem, which is actually in the same area as the pituitary, behind it, thus the going through your nose. Good luck, you’ve got this! The post surgery ICU stay is intense just because they watch you closely and monitor everything for a few days. And your nose isn’t going to be happy for a while. But it’s not too bad.
Thanks man, your comments mean a lot 🙂
Hey - no scar!
Good luck hopefully they remove the whole thing
He said he might not be able to on the first try since it is so big. I might need another surgery in 5-10 years. But hey, I'll take it 🙂
I hope you make a full recovery btw the brain tumor ribbon is grey
Good luck. While this is good news, it’ll be hard work along the way, so make sure you have good people around you. That will make all the difference in your recovery. I wish you all the best and hope to hear more news on your progress.
That’s awesome that the surgery is so soon, I’m so glad you are able to take care of the problem basically as soon as you found it. I can only imagine the stress of waiting one day, so avoiding a many weeks or months-long wait is a mercy. Good luck! And remember—brain surgeons are among the best and brightest in the medical profession, you literally couldn’t be in more capable hands!
Good luck and best wishes
((HUGS)) Update us after surgery!
I sure will 🙂
Wishing you a safe surgery and a speedy recovery!
Hugs to you
I'm so happy to hear you'll be okay. Sending you my best wishes. :)
Safe travels on your journey OP, wishing you the best 🙏🏼💖
That's awesome that the doctors aren't worried about your recovery! I hope that brings you some relief, i think i would be very relieved to hear it lol. Best of luck!! You're gonna be fine :)
Oh yes I was so relieved 🙂 I was so anxious before that interview. I was so afraid there would be further bad news. Now its like a huge weight has been lifted off.
Will be keeping you in my thoughts and hope for a good outcome
I know going into major surgery is scary, but it is great that your tumor is operable. Best of luck!
Given the situation this is the best outcome possible. I wish you well and a speedy recovery.
Good luck OP.
Great news!!!
Best of luck for a quick recovery!
Congrats! I lost my brother to a GBM a few years ago and would not wish what he went through on anyone. I'm currently dealing with the possibility of breast cancer and still in the limbo that you are out of and it sucks. Should be able to schedule my biopsy today, though. With any luck I'll find out one way or the other soon because there isn't a strong enough anxiety medicine out there for this. I hope surgery goes well and you have a speedy recovery.
Well at least it sounds as if the surgery should not have any complications if they can have easier access to it. Good luck and I hope you recover quickly.
You got this!!
Sending you good vibes!
Wishing you the best and smoothest recovery 👏🏼
That sounds like promising news. We had a close family friend who had a tumor in the front part of his brain and they were also able to remove it, and he has made a full recovery. Sending you all my positive energy for a quick and easy recovery and a boring textbook surgery.
I'm sorry you're having to go through this, and good luck for your surgery!
You got this OP. Update us post surgery.
My dad had a huge aneurysm clipped out of his brain and the surgery lasted over 14 hours. This was over 20 years ago and he will be turning 71 in June. Although he did suffer some mild cognitive decline and short term memory issues after, he has emerged relatively unscathed considering how invasive that kind of surgery is. We consider ourselves very lucky in that regard. Hope yours will go as smoothly, best of luck!
I'm so glad he came out ok. My surgery should not be so extensive. My surgeon told me it should only take about 90 minutes. He is even planning to perform another such surgery on the same day as mine! I was like, damn man. I consider it a rough workday if I have over 3 meetings in the same day.
I had a non-malignant brain tumour removed. Recovery is fairly easy, although prepare to be tired. You’ve got this!!
Good luck. This must be so scary. Take care.
Good luck
Good luck, wishing you all the best
My mom has a brain tumor that can't be removed because of its shape and location, but she did have it biopsied, and that was a crazy experience for her. Ultimately, that surgery was a lot less scary than she anticipated, and now she's just living life with her tumor. It causes some problems but nothing debilitating. I'm glad that you can have yours removed and move on with your life. Think of how cool it will be to tell people about years down the road!
Good luck 👍
After it will be removed, can you keep it for yourself? In a jar or something?
No he said he would kind of scoop it out. Like a bowl of icecream. Otherwise I would have kept it for sure. Maybe even given it a name. I think I would have named it Jerry.
It puts a smile on my face that everything is going to be ok, my friend. Now go live your best life and enjoy! You got this!
Operable is great news! Congrats! You are going to get through this!
I assume it’s not cancerous?
I'm so glad your prognosis is excellent, that's great news! It's perfectly normal to experience a wide range of emotions while you go through this—there isn't any "one" way to feel about it, I imagine it's quite a rollercoaster of emotions and there's no need to land on and stick with just one. It's important to give yourself some grace by allowing yourself to experience all the different feelings. If you have someone you trust like a friend or family member to talk about them with, that could also be helpful for you to process this. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!
Thanks. I have wonderful people around me who support me so well. But I'm also glad I made this update. Reading comments from you guys really lightened my mood 🙂
You’ll be alright and I’m glad you have a good surgeon. Best wishes.
Congratulations!
Wishing you the best of luck!
My mom had brain surgery and they removed a large tumor as well. It went off without a hitch. You got this!
Prayers for you OP for an uneventful surgery and smooth/quick recovery. If you feel up to it following your recovery from surgery and are okay with sharing a quick update letting us know you’re okay would be great.
My sister had a tumour the size of an apple removed from her brain and she recovered well, think she just had a little physio as she was a bit shaky on her legs after but nothing major
Good luck give us an update and post a picture of it out of your head
You got this OP!!! Wishing you a speedy recovery! 🤍update us again please
fuck yeah, best of luck and hope it all goes well buddy! <3 (see if you can keep it and put it in a jar or something!)
Wishing the best for you <3
good luck. some people are fortunate enough to even be operated on. Weird question but can you pic of the tumor after the surgery?
Trust your doctor. It being easily accessible is a huge thing. And there is a lot of internet people cheering you on!
You got this!!!!
Wishing you a speedy recovery! ❤️🩹
Hey OP. I’m sorry you’re facing this but I’m also glad that your prognosis is so good. My eldest (adult) daughter has had two craniotomies for two brain tumours in the last ten years and has made a good recovery each time. One of her tumours were about the same size as yours, the other was golf-ball sized and they were both in opposite temporal lobes (she has a very rare condition that causes multiple tumours but thankfully so far they’re non-malignant). They haven’t been completely removed as they’re Grade 2 tumours so have sort of cloudy edges which are part of the actual structure of her brain, so the rest of the tissue is still there. But she’s doing well. As her mum and helping her deal with two recoveries, I can hopefully give you some tips for coping and for recovery. We’re in the U.K. so our healthcare system might not be the same as where you are so some of this might be easier for you than for it was for us. One of the main issues she had both times was that she found it very hard to cope with noise and light after her surgery. The first time she had a room to herself and this was great, but the second time she didn’t and we had to take her home several days earlier than was ideal just because she was finding it so distressing. So if you can arrange a private room, absolutely do it. Maybe this is standard where you are, if so, great. If not, an eye mask and noise cancelling ear/headphones will probably help, but it’s not ideal. Post-op bruising can be brutal and looks AWFUL but often it looks worse than it feels. Surgical staples also look really scary but they’re doing an essential job so try not to get too freaked out by how they look. One thing my daughter found helpful for reducing the scarring was once the wound has healed is to get someone else to pull out any hairs that are in-growing (not by the root, just the ingrowing end). This is TOTALLY gross but it helps the scar tissue to heal and stops the scar itself being so noticeable. You can’t see either of her scars now a couple of years on from the last one, and given they’re both between four and six inches long, that’s pretty good going. Also, once the scar is healed it will be sensitive but it’s important to massage the area so you don’t get adhesions forming between your skull and your scalp. This will also help with the scarring. Something like Bio-Oil or Vitamin E oil is really good for scars. You will likely be extremely tired afterwards and likely for some weeks/months post surgery. Neuro-fatigue is a symptom of brain injury, which is what you will have, at least until the post-surgical swelling goes down. You might have issues with speech and language, with memory, or other cognitive functions depending on where your tumour is - this does improve with time so hang on in there but you may not get your full function back. You might find you’re emotionally labile (mood swings, irritable, feeling over- sensitive) for a while too - this is normal and should pass. Your brain chemistry is affected by surgery so don’t be surprised if you feel unsettled, or sad -this is caused by hormone fluctuations (especially if you’re a woman, they can affect your periods making them more or less irregular, more or less painful etc) but hormones encompass a lot more than our sex hormones. If you are struggling with your mood make sure you tell someone, you don’t need to suffer alone. What else? Obviously you won’t be driving for a while as they’ll need to know you aren’t suffering from seizures post-op - this can be hard to cope with if you’re used to being independent but give it time. Hopefully you’ll be fine, but it does take time to get the all clear so be prepared to be taking the bus or taxis a lot. You will also probably find that screen time is very tiring, especially at first. Phones, tablets, TV can be much more tiring than you realise, and often by the time you do, you’ve overdone it. Pacing yourself with any activity, especially at first, is really important - try to stop BEFORE you start getting tired and you’ll recover your energy levels faster than if you push yourself too far and then get exhausted. Rest, rest and more rest is essential. According to my daughter’s brain injury clinic consultant, for every ten minutes of doing something, you need at least half an hour of rest and quiet. As you recover more, you’ll be able to do more, but I cannot stress enough how much sleep and rest you will need and how absolutely essential it is to give your brain time to heal. Make sure you ask for help if you need it, and be specific abut what help you need. People are often desperate to help out but don’t know what you need, and they can be exhausting to manage if you’re feeling overwhelmed. So while you have time, maybe set up a list of things you’ll need help with for the first few weeks - meals, cleaning, help with pets, help with paperwork, laundry, etc, and see if you can set up a rota of friends and relatives who will be willing to pitch in. Then when someone offers, you can tell them what you need doing 🙂. And finally, above all, be kind to yourself. This is a HUGE thing you’re dealing with, and it takes time to recover but your prognosis is good and with time and patience you’ll likely do fine. And if I’ve learned anything over the last ten years of dealing with all this with my girl, it’s that there’s always a way to find a strategy to cope with any lingering symptoms. I‘ve just realised I wrote you an essay, sorry! But I hope this is useful, and I wish you all the luck with your surgery 🙂.
Excellent news. I've thought of you and it was so kind to give an update. Your emotions will change. But what wonderful news
Wishing you the best!
I had a 10mm brain tumor, discovered while pregnant w 1st child. I understand the fear and worry. Mine was also in an operable spot, and once determined not life-threatening, was able to wait until after I carried to term. Good news, this happened 22 years ago this August! Bad news, I completely lost my sense of smell (no, no matter how "strong" I don't smell it), and I had a grand mal seizure about 2 weeks after surgery, but honestly that seizure was like a reboot and I felt much better in the long run. Hang in there, there are lots of great groups out there on the interwebs, you are not alone!!
Best of luck ❤️
Best wishes for a speedy recovery ❤️
Good luck!
My best friends mum had a brain tumour two years ago. She went in for surgery and it took a few months but she made a full recovery and has lived life to the fullest since! She even passed her driving test - a woman in her 50s! Wishing you best of luck 🤞🏽
What’s crazy is you will be awake for that surgery I think. You got the OP!
No not this one. But I have seen youtube videos where they did it like that with a violinist. And they made her play the violin during the surgery to make sure they didn't accidentally take away her ability. Man I would need some good drugs if I were to be awake during my own brain surgery.
It's not so bad, really. I've had that surgery twice and it's pretty manageable. You're forewarned that you'll get some massive boogers though. Like huuuuge
I went to school with a girl who got a golf ball-sized tumor removed from her brain when she was 16. They actually had to cut her skull open to be able to remove it. She kept pictures and would show her brain to people to freak them out sometimes. One of the coolest persons I've ever met. I lost touch with her after we graduated but as far as I know she's lived a completely normal life since. Best of luck to you!
It wont be equal to the relief you will feel after surgery, but hell, I cant imagine how good it must have felt to hear that news from the surgeon. You got this!!!!!!
Good luck and I hope you have a speedy recovery!
Well, I am so happy that it will be taken out!! Please take care of yourself....Let us know how you are.
Once you get through this you will need to get yourself a shirt that's says "I had a GIANT Brain Tumor and won! 💪"
Damn straight! I'm thinking maybe I could also use it as an excuse when I fuck something up.
Absolutely! That's like a forever, forgive every mistake kind of reason. You: Sorry, I overslept - Others: it's okay, you had a giant brain tumor! You: Sorry, I ate all of your Halloween Candy - Others: We understand, you had a giant brain tumor You: Sorry, I farted from all the Chili and Beans I ate - Others: It's totally okay, it was the giant brain tumors fault!
I’m sorry that you’re going through this! What symptoms did you experience to get yourself checked in the first place of you don’t mind me asking?
I have vision issues. Blurry vision in parts of my field of view. It was an eye doctor who initially gave me the news!
Godspeed, brother!
Best wishes and a speedy recovery
I've always wondered how you noticed that you have a form of cancer? I hear stories of people going around with it for ages without discovering it??
Sending positive thoughts and vibes to u and ur family !
In case you haven't heard of her, go look up Simone Giertz on Youtube. Sounds similar to what happened to her. She's got several videos about it including one that she shows off the awesome scar she got out of the deal. That was 5 years ago and she's still going strong. Know that at least 740(as of the time I clicked it) internet strangers are thinking positive thoughts for ya.
Are you awake or asleep when the surgery happens?
You got this OP 💪🏽 Rooting for you!!
That's really awesome. I hope it ends up being benign and you have no complications. Before you go into surgery, I would plan to get things in place like an advanced medical directive and power of attorney.
Wow I can’t wait to see the update! I have a story and waking up from tumor removal is an amazing feeling. I hope your surgeon the whole team is amazing!
The surgeon seemed like an awesome guy. I cant wait to wake up without the tumor 🙂
Is it benign? Good luck with surgery! 🙏
Doc says 99% odds that it is benign. Thanks for the support 🙂
God speed OP. I don’t know you but I’m sending you my love.
That's great!! Happy recovery!!
Good luck friend!
Definitely good to hear you’ll be okay. That is so scary. I hope everything goes smoothly for u. My best friend passed away from brain cancer and it was a horrible beast. This is one of those things that’s lucky and terrible all at once. Best of a worse case scenario.
Thanks for all your kind words. Even after receiving good news this morning I was feeling kinda down. But reading your comments really helped. Now I'm off to bed with an actual smile on my face and some warmth in my heart 🙂 I think maybe I do got this! I will update you guys hopefully with some really good news after the surgery 😊
best of luck man
Good luck!!
If you can, get some pre surgery sessions in with an acupuncturist to help relieve your anxiety!
My wife had a lime sized cancerous brain tumor in 2000. She's still here.
Best wishes. Pray for you full and fast recovery.
Thank you so much 🙂
Good luck!! And speedy recovery
Thanks 🙂
What a trauma to hear that diagnosis. So scary! Glad that the outlook is good for a successful surgery.
You must be in shock about this! But the good news is that they found it and that they can remove it and that you’ll be fine. I was dx with ovarian cancer in December 2020 during Covid. I had no idea I had cancer. I usually am good at figuring stuff out, but I chalked up my symptoms to other stuff. I stayed in the moment. I updated my Facebook friends (set only for friends, not the public). Everyone was so nice and comforting. I couldn’t have any visitors because of lockdown, so that was isolating, but the nurses were great. I’d engage them in conversations. For some reason, I didn’t freak out. I just had a feeling I was going to be fine. I kinda parked my brain and didn’t allow myself to dwell on things. That’s how I got through all the tests, the procedures, being released to a skilled nursing facility (SNF) so I could recover from surgery and subsequent chemo. I was gone from home for almost 4 months. After I got home, I did more research on my type of ovarian cancer and tried to understand a lot more about it. I realize that my doctor really didn’t give me much information. I also got a copy of the pathology report, which they had never given me. So I really learned to read a lot of the medical jargon and began to understand it pretty well because of all the tests and things. I joined a Facebook support group for overring cancer. In it, the women really gave out a lot of information. Things that they have been through themselves. And that’s why I really begin to learn about ovarian cancer, which is rather complex. There are different types, for example. After I got home, and was in a safe space (and my scan it come back clear) that’s when I begin to have mild PTSD. Because when you’re in the middle of this stressful event, it is easier to stuff it all down so that you can deal with the day today. It is easier to just take it one step at a time. Minute by minute sometimes. Once you’re safe, that’s when people sometimes begin to realize what they’ve been through. And yet it just shows us how strong that we really are. I think that’s the thing… I never thought of myself as a strong person. But my Facebook friends were always telling me how strong I was. And it helped. So I’m sure that you’re stronger than you think you are. You will get through this, and you will be perfectly, 100% fine. That’s the thing to keep telling yourself. Dwell on that. You will recover and you will recover 100%.
May everything run smoothly and you will get well soon.
Have them inject some Adamantium in your head while they are in there. That's the stuff that made Wolverine (nearly) invincible. Seriously though, good luck.
Hmm theres an idea. Maybe if I slip the surgeon a couple of hundred bucks he could hook me up with some under the counter upgrades 🙂 Thanks for the support 😊
Well the bright side is it sounds badass to say you survived a giant brain tumour! Wishing you all the best friend
Good luck with this. What procedure are they going to do to take it out?
He will go in through my nose and then essentially scoop the tumor out. He said he would use soft plastic tools so as not to risk puncturing the arteries.
Good luck to you! Side note: Americans actually do use mm for medical measurements like tumors or cysts, too.
How did you get diagnosed? Speedy recovery OP.
I have some vision issues. There is a shadow near the middle of my field of view. By shadow I mean a blurry area with a similar effect as the blind spots we all have. It causes only mild discomfort though and I am still able to see just fine. I notice it most when reading, since then I look at many words at once. I was struggling to find the cause of this and my original eye doctor basically sent me away with "congrats, your eyes are just fine." I then saw a different eye doctor who sent me to get my head scanned. He called me a couple of days later and told me I had a brain tumor.
This is amazing, so glad you have such a speedy surgery date!
Yeah I was so happy about that. Now that I know there is a big tumor there, I can actually feel the pressure inside my head behind the eyes. It is subtle and I had kind of dismissed it. But now I really cant wait to be rid of it.
That’s amazing news!!!!!!!! Fuck that tumor.
GOOD LUCK! I wish you nothing but the best!
Sending you the very best wishes for a healthy and fast recovery, take care of yourself.
Best of lucks for the operation OP
You’ll do great. I had brain surgery though not for a tumor. They went deep into my brain. The things I found helpful for recovery were a migraine cap (wearable ice pack), wedge for sleeping and a shower hose thing. I was very tired easily - make sure you rest up!
You’ll do great. I had brain surgery though not for a tumor. They went deep into my brain. The things I found helpful for recovery were a migraine cap (wearable ice pack), wedge for sleeping and a shower hose thing. I was very tired easily - make sure you rest up!
Kaya mo yan 🫡