10 years post surgical MRI

[JB914]

Background,  I'm basically watch and wait 10 years post surgery from House Ear Clinic LA.   My tumor was right side and I lost 80% hearing before any surgery and most of what was left of my hearing was lost from surgery.   2.5 years ago i found my AN had returned and was approx.  3mm x 4mm x 6mm in size.

Had my 10 year post surgical MRI a few weeks ago.    Two weeks ago the tumor appears to have shrunk to   3mm x 3mm x 5mm   

I have found taking Turmeric 1000mg twice a day has helped me with some non AN related joint/muscle aches and pains and have read there might be general anti-cancer/anti-tumor benefits to taking Turmeric.   I have found when i don't take the Turmeric i tend to have more aches and pains and my AN side of my head near the surgical site tends to be more swollen. 

So, in my personal "clinical trial" i've found taking Turmeric has helped with surgical site swelling.   For me, that alone is of great benefit!   I'm not sure the Turmeric is directly responsible for the smaller tumor size, but, i'm not gonna stop taking it!  YMMV

[LisaM]

Hi there!  I too am taking turmeric and I really think it's helping.  I'm waiting and watching hoping to avoid surgery.
 
Recently, I read that to get the full benefit from turmeric, one is supposed to take it with fat and it also needs to be heated.  Active Ubiquinol CoQ10 is also supposed to do something that helps with absorption if you take it before the tumeric.  Here's a link with lots of info on tumeric aka curcumin: http://margaret.healthblogs.org/life-with-myeloma/discovery-of-curcumin/bioavailability-of-curcumin/

Right now I'm taking 1000 mg per day (when I had a bout of Sudden hearing loss I took about 12000 mg per day and have maintained my hearing so far).  Often I open a capsule and put it into something I'm eating that is hot and has some kind of oil in it.  I've also eliminated dairy and wheat from my diet which helps me with being anti-inflammatory. 

I think the AN in my head feeds on stress hormones and unfortunately I have a fair amount of stress in my life.  Just started taking an herb called Holy Basil that is supposed to help in reducing cortisol levels.  Cortisol is the fight or flight hormone produced by the adrenal system as I understand it.  I've also stumbled into learning something about protein and how lack of protein has something to do with higher cortisol levels.  Years ago, when a vegetarian I was told that I was protein deficient.  I started eating poultry and fish, but remained protein deficient.  Same doc that told me I was protein deficient told me my adrenal system was on overdrive but he didn't mention anything about higher cortisol levels and protein.  Hmmmmm.  The AN is a second brain tumor for me.  First tumor was a prolactinoma that was treated with a drug and a lifestyle change.  After 12 years it disappeared.

Here's an interesting link on cortisol: http://bodyecology.com/articles/reduce_your_cortisol_levels.php
 
Don't know what any of this means, but if I can somehow avoid surgery, that would be just fine by me.  I have my next MRI in January so we'll see what happens.