surgery vs. radiation

[maryanddavidsmith]

Hey Everyone,

    I have a 1.1 cm on the left side.  I was diagnosed in the summer 2013. At my second MRI, one doctor said it was growing and wanted to do radiation.  I went for a second opinion and the doctor didn't see much growth but that doctor prefers surgery. Does anyone know anything about Dr. Kunz in Dallas?

Bless,
Mary

[Mickey]

I have the same size AN and faced the same decision in 2007.  Here it is 2014 and I`m doing fine without doing radiation or surgery. Check out W+W brigade posts for a pro active health approach.  Allot applies here and every situation is different but if you fall in the perameters W+W it is a viable treatment.  Best wishes, Mickey

[john1455]

Watch and Wait is a very viable option but I think that works best for small ANs. 1.1 cm is getting to the point that there will be little wiggle room before symptoms like hearing loss will occur and if that happens, you will NOT likely get it back, at least that is the impression I got from my online research. If an AN is at 1.1 cm and is growing, then W+W is no longer an option, IMHO. My AN was 1.9 cm and I now have 70% loss of hearing on the AN side. If you seek out physicians who do both surgery and stereotactic radiosurgery, you will get a more unbiased opinion.

[Ruthie Mac]

I was diagnosed with a 1 cm AN in May 2013. My Sept. 2013 MRI showed "no significant growth". The team of Doctors I  consulted with at Mass General in Boston suggested I "wait & watch", but I had a friend who had the same size tumor and same age, who was a surgeon(in a different field),  and he chose radiation. When I asked why, he said because he is a surgeon he knows all the things that can go wrong.  Since he had great success with radiation I asked where he went and  he put me in contact with his colleague, Dr. T.J. Fitzgerald, Radiation Oncology Dept. at UMass Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Dr. Fitzgerald felt strongly that there is no such thing as "no significant growth". Any change is significant and shows the tumor is dynamic and is "asking to be treated".
I did a lot of research and consulted with more doctors in Boston, New York, Princeton & talked with House Institute in L.A. by phone a lot (they are truly angels)... because it did seem like a leap of faith to base such an important decision on one person's success. But as I discovered in my research, even ONE person's success is huge, as everyone's outcome is so diverse, so I followed Dr. Fitzgerald's advice to seek treatment.
The surgeons in Boston & New York would have more than happy to operate, but felt that 1 cm was small enough to consider radiation, if I wanted to pursue that option. It gave me peace of mind to know the surgeons were so confident, but after reading so many posts on this forum, I knew there was no "magic wand" to make it all better, and both options had their respective list of pros & cons...
so I went back to Dr. Fitzgerald at UMass Medical and had 4 FRS sessions on the Varian Trilogy. There were lots of options for radiation in Boston: GK, CK, Proton...but once again I felt drawn to follow the footsteps of the one person who I knew had a successful experience.
I'm now in my 6th month - it has been a roller coaster ride - fatigue & dizziness, working on balance issues with PT- but I've been lucky so far with hearing, and I do feel like the worst is over, so I don't regret my decision yet, but it really is a HARD decision to make.
Wishing you the best, whatever path you choose...
Ruth

[maryanddavidsmith]

I appreciate your feedback.  I just keep putting it off because I am afraid it will affect my job as a preschool teacher.  I am up for renewing my contract for next year.  I really need this job as I am only 51 and my husband and two children need to continue to support.  I am worried about the side effects.

Mary

[john1455]

Have you seen this site?

http://www.myacoustic.org/

[leapyrtwins]

Docs who treat ANs with radiation typically recommendation radiation.  Docs who treat ANs with surgery typically recommendation surgery. 

Based on the size of your AN - and depending on the location - you should be a candidate for either treatment. 

Make sure you talk to a well-rounded group of docs so you have opinions that aren't "biased" based on what treatment the doc does.  My doc does both radiation and surgery, so he gave me the choice of either; not all docs do.

Also, when looking into surgery see if you can find a doc who does the mid-fossa approach.  Not all docs do.  Mid-fossa isn't available to everyone (depends on size and location of AN) but it will give you the best chance of saving your hearing (if it's worth saving).

Good luck making your decision,

Jan

[Hokiegal]

I totally understand your concern regarding your teaching job.  I returned to work as an engineer after four months, but still have issues with concentration and fatigue.  I would imagine a classroom setting could be very challenging.  Regardless of the treatment option you choose, my advice is to thoroughly research your medical benefit and disability plans - both short and long term.  I was expecting a short recovery, and by the time I realized I needed to thoroughly understand my disability plans it was most difficult to do so.  It was not a good feeling.