Many with smaller AN's wouldn't be comfortable knowing the "lumpy" was there and just waiting to see what happens, but if you're good with waiting, then that's great...
Just to expand on Brian's train of thought, when I first found out I had an AN my perspective was this:
before it was diagnosed, I still had an AN in my head; I just didn't know it. After diagnosis, I was still the same person. So why not watch and wait (if the doctors thought it was okay to do so)? After all, I'd been sort of watching and waiting for all those years the tumor was growing before I was diagnosed. I bet there are a lot of people in the world who have a tumor -- or multiple tumors -- in their body and don't know it. They are all in watch-and-wait, without the "watch" part.
A lot of people (those not in this forum) who have never experienced a slow-growing disease think they are perfectly healthy until the day a disease magically appears, when in fact the process of aging (even when you're young) is one of a body slowly getting torn down, wearing out, and becoming the target of opportunistic forces of disease. One of the spiritual challenges of living with a disease is accepting the new you and being okay with it. This in no way means people who opt for immediate treatment aren't capable of accepting their disease. Many opt for immediate treatment not out of fear but because they refuse to let the AN control their life and choose to take positive action so they can move on with their life.
It's a personal decision and process that is different for everyone, with no right or wrong way. That is perhaps the biggest spiritual component of having a disease like an AN. It puts us on a path of self-discovery like few other things in life can.
Good luck on your next MRI in March, DJ.
Best wishes,
TW
