My AN journey began in April 2011 when an MRI discovered a 3cm tumor. The only symptom I had was a weird popping sound in the right ear. Without considering surgery very seriously, I had 30 sessions of SFR over 6 weeks, and two months after that began to experience discomfort from swelling that lasted on and off for the next eight months. At that time a large cyst developed right next to the tumor. It was a difficult time and I sometimes doubted whether I had made the right choice of treatment, but my doctor never lost confidence. Over this summer I slowly began to feel better, and thankfully a recent MRI brought the news I was praying for. The cyst has gone and the tumor has shrunk a little. I want to thank everyone on the forum for their support and goodwill. I will be keeping an eye on the forum and sending my warm thoughts to all my fellow AN'ers.