Questions!

[Johno]

G'day Marine.
You've got some good advice from this forum so far. On your side you are young, extremely fit and will have the heart and guts that it takes to be a marine with active service experiance. You also have a very small tumor and time to play with before making a life changing decision. I would not rush into surgery. I recently had a 4cm AN removed. The ENT said it had probably been growing in my head for the past 20 years. Seeing as I first noticed hearing loss when I was an rifleman 20 years ago, he was probably right. I always assumed that lots of shooting with no hearing protection had affected the hearing in the right. Although I only served three years, I later joined the reserves a few years back despite failing the hearing test (the Aussie army is full of deaf senior NCO's anyway - thats why they're always yelling) and I was totally unaware of anything else wrong - it did'nt stop me from requalifying as a grunt at 35. It was only a year ago that my right ear went totally and I started to get other symptoms like vertigo and stuffiness in the ear. Three months go an MRI picked up the AN. I don't think that my surgery will in the long term affect my ability to do the things I used to do like surfing, diving, cross country and gym work unless I let it. Keep a positive attitude about it and you will see how your mates and your boss respect you for it and how easier it will be to deal with, also take the time to consider your options, you have a few because the AN is small and you've found it early.
Good luck with it all, compared with what you've already been through this should be a walk in the park.

[Johno]

Marine,
One question. Was that 19yrs service? Hope you did'nt take my joke about deaf senior NCO's personally!
Johno

[Sue]

Welcome, Marine, to the forum.  I concur with everybody else's comments.  It's the pitts having to deal with this stupid thing, but whatareyagonnado?

As to the size and your symptoms...it always amazes me how different we are.  I didn't get the exact same symptoms as you  have until my AN was 2 cm.  I guess it depends on which teeny bit of nerve is being affected. Some people with small AN's have opted for microsurgery.  And I acknowledge that you are concerned with stopping it before something else gets worse.  There is that unknown factor of what is going to happen down the line that can cause major anxiety. Ten Hut, Major Anxiety here!  Okay, bad military joke.    I would also recommend that you get a second opinion.  One of our members just had a terrific result from a team in Tampa Bay, Florida. You can get free consults from House Ear Clinic, and even though they earned their reputation via microsurgery...they also do radiosurgery now.  Also Dr. Chang at Stanford is highly regarded.  At least you can get their opinion, even if you don't want to travel across the country. And you can visit this website:  http://www.cyberknifesupport.org/  and you can ask questions of Doctors there about CyberKnife procedures etc.  Click on Message Boards and then Brain to get you to the right place.

Our nephew is in the Marines and is stationed in Hawaii now. He is leaving this week to go to VietNam where he is helping in excavating a plane crash site from the Viet Nam War. 

Good luck to you and I hope everything goes smoothly in your treatment and recovery.

Sue in Vancouver WA USA

[linnilue]

Hi Marine,  My father was a marine and died in the hospital on Paris Island.  Will the military pay for your surgery anywhere you want to go?  If they will then you need to go to an experienced center and not fool around with this. I read what Rob/ Headcase2 had to say and I think his information is significant and informed.  Good Luck, Holly   

[er]

hello again,
Have you decided?
nikynu is right, find one with lots of expierence.
good luck
eve

[Marine2340]

Well it has been quite awhile since I posted on here. But i finally made a decision to have CyberKnife done. I am going down to Jacksonville Fl next week to see Dr Allison Grow at memorial Hospital. Two days of pre-op and getting zapped for three days. I figure this is the best option based on all the research I have done and all the great responses that I have received from this board. I will let you know how it goes once i get back!   

[Jim Scott]

Marine2340:

Well, it's been 9 months since I last posted a message to you but apparently you did use the time wisely and opted for radiosurgery.  I congratulate you on your obvious diligence in choosing a treatment and of course, I join many others in wishing you a very successful CK treatment with no complications and a rapid, complete recovery. 

Jim

[BDB]

Marine,Thanks for your service to this country! I am an avid bowhunter,had cyberknife 4mos.ago,a few issues,but Im'certainly the exception,and would make the same decision again.Post cyberknife not much is different still can't hear out of my ear,some balance issues etc.about the same as pre-cyberknife.But back to the important stuff Bowhunting! I use a climber,and have gone with a safety vest,I just do things slower and more deliberate.I also started hunting on the ground in brushpiles,this worked far better than I ever imagined,but is also much easier to get busted,butreally exciting when you have a deer 5-10 ft.from you! The worst part I find is when I hear the crunch,crunch ,of a deer coming behind me but have no ideawhat side its coming from,just makes it more challenging,and a bit frustrating at times.Truly for me the worst part is dragging the deer over uneven ground back to the truck,balance issues really come into play here,once again I just slow down and take my time.Good luck with cyberknife,nothing to it.And good luck bowhunting! Bruce