Thank you Steve and Francesco! I am hoping that my side effects don't get much worse. I was pretty surprised at how much swelling there is at 3 months, but I guess that is fairly common. It can stop swelling now though. I am not sure how much more it actually can, do you?
Sher
Hi, Sher:
1.6 mm increase in size along one axis of measurement is quite minimal. Not to minimize your symptoms, which we all know are hard to take and no small matter. But I want to assure you that the small amount of swelling you're having is a very, very small amount compared to what it could be. In fact, 1 to 2 mm is the margin of error for MRIs. The fact that you have an increase in measurement along only one axis is not conclusive; it may, in fact, be a result of the followup MRI simply measuring the tumor along the oblique transverse axis at a thicker slice of the tumor than it sampled in the previous MRI. An increase of a couple milimeters along 2 or more axes would have been more conclusive and worrisome. All that said, you can have clinical (internal) swelling that doesn't even show up as an increase in size on an MRI but can cause an increase in balance symptoms and further hearing loss.
In rare cases, a tumor can swell to well over twice its size along all three axes of measurement (oblique transverse, oblique AP and oblique craniocaudal).
I think you should take heart that your swelling is minimal. It seems that your recovery is well on track. I only wish to reassure you that your MRI results are very good and nothing to be worried about.
Sincerely,
Tumbleweed
