Krev vs cancer

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April 17th started seemingly normal enough, until I started having a few sort of attacks of sensation on my right nostril, best described as huffing some of that lighter fluid they use on coal BBQs.

So I see my family doctor, but nothing really comes of it, maybe sinusitis or similar but basically if it persists or gets worse come back.

Then it got more frequent, and much much worse. From a once or twice a day on Sunday to every few hours on Wednesday. Then the seizures started following the nose attack, I could still see and speak and was fully conscious but my body would sort of violently shiver/shake. So it was off to the E.R. and the triage witnessed an episode which I presume launched me up the tables.

Before long I had had two CT scans and was handed over to a neurosurgeon who had an MRI done to confirm precisely what was going on.

Turns out I had a tumor the size of a small orange in my right temporal lobe. It may have been growing for months or even years before it finally presented it any obvious way. The options presented are surgery with about a 5% chance of going blind/half paralyzed/stroke/hemorage/etc or.. basically certain death. So I chose the surgery.

I had it April 25th/. The doctor got as much as he could, the follow up MRI suggests that was pretty much all of it (but it's hard to be 100% sure). He suspects it's a low grade tumor but we're waiting on pathology to get back to me probably next Tuesday to decide how to follow things up (possibilities include more surgery, chemo, radiation, or just serial MRIs to make sure it hasn't come back).

So... uhm wow.

Major surgery was a hell of an experience but I'm back home now. I'm hopeful all will sort of work out well and I won't have to do this again but at least now we'll be checking for it.

Amazing that something can be so wrong with your body for so long without any real
warnings.


Also I _LOVE_ being Canadian
. I have no doubt that even with insurance in other countries a week in the hospital, countless drugs, imaging, surgery, etc would have bankrupted my Family.

I'm sure I'll have more to say about all of this as my head is able to focus more and I get more information on what exactly we're doing as we move forward. At very least though I think it's safe I've kicked http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/node/107618 in the ass now

Wow! I hope it all continues to go well! Thank goodness they caught it. Best of luck!

Dude, wow! O.O

Glad things went well and you seem to be okay. Holding thumbs for good news from the pathology lab.

Holy mackerel! Glad everything went well, and I'll be in prayer that the outcome was as positive as you think!

...and also that the absorbed fetus won't re-animate and come looking for vengeance. Because I think it should be perfectly obvious, that's what it was.

Good lord! Let me extend my best wishes to you and your family. Here's hoping for no more bad news and a speedy recovery!

Wow, that's a story. So glad to hear it went well and best of luck going forward.

Holy moley. Glad you're okay now, but man. Hope everything continues to go well.

Good luck man. I had a similar if less critical surprise about 6 years ago when diagnosed with lymphoma. These type of things can really make you look at things differently afterwards.

Glad to hear things seem to have gone well. Hopefully they give you more good news after pathology and additional treatments are not problematic for you. I took chemo very well with nearly none of the typical problems with nausea, etc. Was working out and traveling a lot for work during the whole thing.

Side note:
I think in general people assume things about other country's healthcare based on political arguments. I went into my doctor's office late on a Friday afternoon, got taken downstairs to the hospital for a CAT scan where a mass was found in my colon, then prepped for a colonoscopy over the weekend, had that colonoscopy on Monday morning, then had my tumer and 18" of colon removed on Tuesday morning.

At the time I was carrying high deductible insurance because I'd literally never been in the hospital. I think still my total out of pocket was less than $5,000, which I'd more than saved by carrying the insurance type I had for years. Afterwards when I knew I was going to need more frequent doctor's visits, I switched to an HMO and my out of pocket expenses were much lower on subsequent years (about $500/year over insurance premiums), even with very expensive CAT/PET scans ever 3 months.

So most people in the states wouldn't have been bankrupted by your experience.

Best of luck on your continued success at not being dead?

Brain cancer's one of those fears that twinges me fairly deeply from time to time (along with various forms of dementia). So if I'm sending prayers and best wishes your way, it's in part to calm my own nerves.

Jeebus, man, that is intense. How do you feel? Any more symptoms?

Here's to wishing you a quick and full recovery.

Glad things went well. Hope recovery goes quickly and that you stay tumor free!

Wow. Modern medical science is amazing, too. This big old thing has been growing in you for a while, and then starts to be a problem and... in the course of a week, it starts to do something bad, is identified, and removed... FROM YOUR BRAIN... And a few days later you're posting online messages again. That's pretty awesome.

Hope the follow-up stuff goes well for you.

Good lord, what a month. Here's hoping for a good news on the results!

Thanks for the prayers and well wishing everyone.

LobsterMobster wrote:

Jeebus, man, that is intense. How do you feel? Any more symptoms?

Well the scalp muscle kind of connects to your neck, jaw and entire face so I've been rather sore (at one point they had me on a drug (dilapid?) which they described as "exponentially more potent than morphine". I'm dialed way down to standard Tylenol now though.

No seizures since the OP (hooray!). Seems I still have full functioning of both sides of my body, speech, vision, memory, etc. I'll of course have a better sense of that stuff once I'm actually feeling recovered though.

Firstly, glad your surgery went well.

Secondly, an anecdotal story that may ease your mind some about the next few months. My mom had a brain tumor a few years back of similar size and it played out in a very, very similar fashion. They described the size as a "medium size plum". She was fine for ages, then headaches developed, and then all the sudden one day her personality just sort of changed suddenly.

Anywho, her tumor was crowded around a blood vessel basically right behind her forehead, off slightly to one side. She went in for 10 hours of surgery one day and they got about 90% of it, then the next day after the blood vessel expanded back outward and pushed the remaining parts of the tumor out she went in for yet another six hours. They got all of it. Afterward they put her on very "low impact" new kind of chemo just to be safe. It was remarkably easier on her than you might expect such a thing to be. They've made some great strides with treatment for this kind of thing, so if they say you should go in for chemo just to be safe, ask about all the possible options.

As Hypation noted, the things modern medicine accomplishes are, at times, pretty frickin amazing. In my mother's case, she's been back for regular visits for MRI's and the like and has been completely clear ever since.

Hope your results are just as good!

Wow, that was a whole lot of info in a single thread topic.

Glad things seems to be working out, krev. Keep us updated =)

Damn. Modern medicine is pretty sweet. Can't wait for future medicine

krev82 wrote:

So... uhm wow.

Yeah -- that.

Glad to hear everything is tracking well. Best wishes that the lucky streak continues.

You had a mass the size of a small orange removed from your brain and you're lucidly telling us about it three days later.

I'm nearly speechless. Thank you for sharing such an incredible story. I hope that your recovery goes well.

Krev, that's really disturbing news. And really great news.

Hopefully the pathology will be good and you're on the road to full recovery. We're pulling for you!

Glad to hear everything went well after that shock. Best of luck in the future, and here's hoping that everything is clear! I'll also echo the 'yay for modern medicine!' sentiment.

You should have asked if you could have the tumor after they removed it. It's yours after all, and a brain tumor in a jar would make a pretty sweet Halloween decoration.

Wow, that's a Hell of a thing krev. Happy to hear all seems to have gone well. Get better soon!

Yeah, wow. I'm glad you're doing well, and I hope you continue to do so!

Holy crap...wow man. Best of luck. Sending good vibes.

And yes, getting a bit of Canadian pride right now. I really hope the good news continues to flow in.

muttonchop wrote:

You should have asked if you could have the tumor after they removed it. It's yours after all, and a brain tumor in a jar would make a pretty sweet Halloween decoration.

I tried that, when my fingers were amputated. They said they couldn't anymore, something about biological blah blah something or other. Lame.

a tumor the size of a small orange in my right temporal lobe

Highlighted for jaw-droppingness. WHOAH.

The very, very best of luck, man. That's freaking terrifying.

Holy f*cking sh*t. I'm so sorry you're Canadian.

I MEAN, I hope you have a full recovery! All the best man.

So awesome that you are doing so great so soon. Glad to hear it. My question is, did you get to keep the tumor, because that is fireplace mantel caliber stuff there.

They did implant the biotic module while they were in there, right?

Jonman wrote:

They did implant the biotic module while they were in there, right?

Nah, they just put in a little bag of sand.
IMAGE(http://www.ugo.com/therush/images/character_studies/jfk-316/image_ossie-davis-bubba-ho-tep.jpg)

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