Possible recurrence after microsurgery and gamma knife.

[teacher]

What do I do next?   I thought (maybe a little too confidently) that I was done with this.  I had microsurgery in Dec. 2004 to debunk a 3 cm AN.  The following April (2005), I had the Gamma Knife radiation for the remaining tumor. I lost my heariing after the microsurgery, but all facial functioning was preserved.  Now, I'm showing signs of regrowth between symptons that can no longer be ignored and a MRI in August which indicated an increase in size to the affected area.  I have an MRI scheduled in 2 weeks.  Has anyone had both procedures and then a regrowth?  I'm a mother of four, a full time 1st grade teacher, and thankfully busy enough that I don't have a lot of time to worry about myself...but at night time, those anxieties creep in. Thanks for any info.

Teacher (also known as Cary)

[jerseygirl]

Teacher,

It is wonderful to hear that you have gone back to teach after AN and having single sided deafness! Recurrence is a sad and worrisome business. I know because I just had mine removed in California while I live near NYC and had the original tumor "done" at NYU. Where did you have Gamma? Some doctors think that Gamma can be done twice. As far as microsurgery goes, every neurosurgeon I visited complains about re-operation and scar tissue. It is now common to have microsurgery followed with radiation and I guess some of these tumors will regrow in time. 

If your next MRI shows that regrowth is real and not the result of the error in measurement, I doubt you have any choice but to start visiting neurosurgeons (the ones that do radiation and/or microsurgery) again. This forum is a wealth of information and support. Hopefully, your tumor is really dead and did not regrow! Best of luck to you and keep us poted.

                Eve

[sgerrard]

Well first, wait for the next MRI. There is an error of around 2mm in any MRI, so the apparent size change might be a fluke.

How big is the new "indication" ? Even if it is a regrowth, its size will help determine if you have to act on it, or can wait and see what happens, although I guess if you are getting new symptoms you may want to act anyway. In that case I would consult with several doctors, and see if another radiation is reasonable, or if another surgery is. The cyberknife patient support web site might be one place to look.

Meanwhile, lets hope it is just flaring up a little, and won't require anything.

Steve