It's been almost two weeks since my GK procedure, and I'm holding up fairly well. I have experienced a great deal of fatigue, which my GK doc said was due to my "aging process." (I'm 47.) There have been times in the past week that I had to talk myself into scratching an itch, it seemed like that much effort. I need an extended nap (this is new) and feel run down. But I am functioning fine otherwise.
I did get a letter from a neurosurgeon with whom I had consulted before my treatment. I only got the letter today. But he put into writing some new information I had never seen.
He writes, "Pertinent complications of radiation treatment include a 5% chance of facial weakness (not paralysis). There would be a 5% chance you might experience significant headaches post radiation. This is the result of protein shedding from the tumor that blocks brain fluid absorptive pathways...There is a 5% chance you may experience significant facial numbness/pain. This is the result of radiation injury to the nearby trigeminal (facial sensation) nerve."
But it is what he writes next that was most noteworthy to me as it's something I have never come across: "Following radiation you would also be at risk for developing other tumors intracranially. The development of post-radiation meningiomas is well known and is reported in the world literature." He goes on to write about malignancy potential (he writes between 1/1000 to 1/10,000) which I knew. But it is the increase for meningiomas down the road I had never come across. Doing a search of "radiation treatment" and "meningiomas" and other key word searches came up with very limited results--and made me pause at the reference to being "well known" and "reported in the world literature." Has anyone come across this information?
Finally, he did indicate that alcohol was permissible post-radiation, and I wondered if anyone knew of any effects in that regard? I have become healthier since diagnosis but do like to imbibe occasionally.
Hope everyone is well. Peace,
Patrick
