Would pregnancy make AN grow again?

[Louise UK]

Hi everyone,

I've had my surgery, that cut the size of my AN and GK for the remaining part. I have my MRI in a few weeks, which will be a year after my GK. I've thinking for some time about trying for a baby, but there is always a niggling part of me that is worried that being pregnant might somehow stop the GK working and make my AN grow again. When I mentioned this to my surgeon quite a few months ago, he said that I shouldn't worry about getting pregnant because pregnancy wouldn't have any effect on the AN, as unlike other kinds of tumour's, AN's dont have any hormone receptors. Even though i've been told this by my surgeon who I trust, im a born worrier and im scared that pregnancy will have an ill effect. So i've been putting off trying for a baby, as I dont know what to do. I would like to have a child and im just worried that having a AN, even though its been treated, means that I will never be able to have children, because of what might happen.
So im kinda confused about what to do, any thoughts on this?

Thanks,

Louise. x

[kiwi]

Hi Louise

I don't think pregnancy has any effect on your tumour.  I am 4 months pregnant myself and nearly 7 months post op and the only issue I have is with fatigue.  I know that this is common with pregnancy but add brain surgery to the mix and I'm tired all the time.  Apart from that the only grief I get is from my fat graph scars, they have not had much time to heal and now my waistline is expanding a bit I can feel the tweaks. I see a specialist for my pregnancy mainly because of my age but also because my tumour is still relatively "fresh". Apart from that everything has been normal in every way.

Go for it and don't let the tumour hold you back from enjoying life.

Jacqui

[Jim Scott]

Louise ~

As you know, our members - including me - are not doctors and cannot offer medical advice.  However, based on what a surgeon has told you, I believe your fears are basically unfounded.  Perhaps you can do internet research to find out more but I would speculate that becoming pregnant will not generate tumor growth and that you shouldn't allow a medically unsupported fear stop you from experiencing motherhood, if that is your desire.   Of course, this is an extremely personal decision and entirely yours to make, but if your doctor has reassured you that becoming pregnant will not generate AN re-growth, I see no reason why you should deprive yourself of one of life's greatest joys. 

Jim

[Kaybo]

Louise~
I had my AN surgery when I was 25 and did not have children yet.  I guess that, even though I had surgery and they seemed to have gotten it all, I could have always worried and wondered if there was a "little bit" left that was going to grow & resurface.  I wanted children SO BAD that I never, ever gave it a second thought!!  I went on to have 3 beautiful, HEALTHY girlies AFTER my AN surgery and have not looked back...and really, I think that IF somehow having a child caused my tumor to grow again, I would still do it in a heartbeat!!  AN, although very pesky, IS a treatable thing & IMO, having babies FAR OUTWEIGHS the risk involved!!     Just my 2 cents!!  However, we will respect your decision either way.

K   

[krbonner]

Believe me, I understand your concerns and where you're coming from. 

I lost my hearing in the left ear quite suddenly halfway through my second pregnancy.  I was diagnosed when that baby was about 3 months old (nobody was willing to do the tests while I was still pregnant).  I had surgery a little over a year later (my sons were 4.5 and 1.5 at the time), in 2006, after the AN grew exceptionally fast.  The working theory is that it grew so much faster than normal because of all the extra estrogen I had from the pregnancy and breastfeeding.  After the surgery, the surgeons assured me that they had fully removed the AN.  No bits left at all.

Then I got pregnant again in 2008.  And I was terrified that the pregnancy was going to somehow trigger an AN growth.  Not saying it was a rational fear (all the doctors assured me over and over again that I should have more children if I wanted them and the AN would not be a factor), but it was a fear nonetheless.  Lo and behold, another MRI 6 months after my daughter was born showed that nothing had changed.  No bright spot on the scan.  Zippo.  But I had also worked out my own "worst-case scenario" - if the AN did reappear after my pregnancy, then we would deal with it.  Probably with radiation.  It'd be a pain to deal with an AN a second time, but my daughter was worth that risk.  By more than a thousand-fold.

Please, please don't let your AN keep you from having a child if you want.  More than one child even!  Your AN is dead.  If (and this is a BIG "if") the AN did have hormone receptors, it is dead.  Hormones can't revive a dead tumor.   (There's a variation on the zombie trend - zombie ANs!  LOL!)  And ask yourself what is the "worst-case scenario"?  The AN goes zombie on you?  If that happens, you watch-and-wait and then treat if it becomes necessary. 

If you still have concerns, talk with your doctors again.  Talk with them as often as you need to so that you feel comfortable with your decisions.  Personally, I am grateful every day that we didn't let my AN keep us from having Audrey - she completes our family in a way that defies words.

Katie

[Louise UK]

Thank you everyone for your replies. Reading them has made me feel a lot better about my concerns. Its nice to know there are people who have had the same worries as me and that im not just over thinking things. I feel that when I do decide to have a child one day, I will not worry as much as I would have. Thanks again everyone.

Louise. x

[arkansasfarmgirl]

I do believe that pregnancy and breastfeeding made my AN grow faster and have had some doctors concur and others disagree.  My initial symptoms showed up during my first pregnancy, leveled off, then got worse during my second pregnancy and got BAD immediately after her birth.  I was diagnosed when my daughter was 6 weeks old and had surgery when she was 3 months old.   I would not trade these 2 kiddos for anything in the world...if I could go back and do things differently, knowing what was going to happen, I wouldn't change anything.  If you want a baby, it's worth any risk to do it.  But like somebody else said, your tumor is dead so probably nothing to worry about.

Vonda