FNISHED!!!

[phantagrae]

I had the last of my 30 radiation treatments today and "graduated"!  They gave me a little diploma and everything. 

I've had a pretty good experience, all things considered.  I've felt almost no side effects until the last couple of weeks where I felt some noticable fatigue and a little stomach upset that may or may not have been associated with the treatments.

I did go ahead and start a low dose of a steroid that I will taper off of over the next 2 weeks and I'll stop that on the 16th or so.

I'll see the doc for a follow-up in about 6 weeks, and then I'll wait a few months before I do a follow-up MRI.

I will probably check back in here from time to time and I just want to wish everyone well with their treatments and recovery, whichever paths you all choose.

I cannot express how helpful this site has been in helping me understand my diagnosis, my treatment options and with making my treatment choice.

Offically a Post-Toastie!!

Thanks, everyone!

phantagrae (Beth)

[Tumbleweed]

Congrats on your Toastie Postiehood, Beth!

Best wishes for a fast recovery,
TW

[Jim Scott]

Beth ~

Congratulations! 

As an AN patient that underwent FSR (26 sessions) I want to warn you that as the irradiated tumor reacts to the FSR it will probably cause your next MRI to show 'growth', which is really swelling from the radiation.  This happened to me and the doctor ordered another MRI 3 months later to check the 'growth'.  By then it had subsided and the MRI indicated the tumor had begun to show both necrosis and the beginnings of shrinkage - which continued.  I never had any AN symptoms during this period and have not experienced any since then.

I trust your experience will be similar.

Jim

[Nank]

Great news!

[phantagrae]

Beth ~

Congratulations! 

As an AN patient that underwent FSR (26 sessions) I want to warn you that as the irradiated tumor reacts to the FSR it will probably cause your next MRI to show 'growth', which is really swelling from the radiation.  This happened to me and the doctor ordered another MRI 3 months later to check the 'growth'.  By then it had subsided and the MRI indicated the tumor had begun to show both necrosis and the beginnings of shrinkage - which continued.  I never had any AN symptoms during this period and have not experienced any since then.

I trust your experience will be similar.

Jim

Thanks, Jim!

I am wondering how the tumor will react and I know that it could swell, etc.  I'm also hoping that my tumor will eventually begin to shrink, but my hope for now is just no growth.

I'm taking this weekend to kind of "reset" myself.  I've got the symphony season starting up this month and I'm also taking on some new bassoon students, teaching one day a week at a nearby university.
One thing that concerned me when I went down on for some preliminary meetings is that the room I'll be teaching in is an air-tight sound-proofed studio.  I've played in them before when I was in school and they can be very weird on the ears.

Now I just have to decide what I'm going to do with my treatment mask.  I'm hoping to find some creative way to decorate it, maybe hang it on the wall.

[phantagrae]

Hey, guys!

I know I haven't posted on the forums for months now, but it's been primarily because I was very busy this past year, once the symphony/school year got started.  I have felt pretty good as far as my AN goes.  I was dealing with knee issues that were more troublesome, culminating in knee surgery in February!

Anyway, in February I also had my first follow-up MRI and as Jim mentioned, my radiation doc did tell me that there was some swelling, which I was prepared for, and also that the tumor did seem to be showing signs of dying in the center.

The only problem is that in April I started having issues with my hearing.  At first I thought it was due to a bad head cold I'd had, but when it didn't clear up, I started to suspect it had to do with the AN.

After meeting with my primary care doc and trying OTC sinus/allergy/decongestant type stuff (in case it was trapped fluid, which it seemed like at first), he did a simple hearing test and I could tell that I wasn't hearing nearly as well as before.
He sent me back to my ENT for more extensive testing and my hearing was pretty terrible.  A year ago when my hearing was tested, my word recognition was 100% and I had only a minor high-frequency loss.
This time around I felt like I was failing a test at school.  I couldn't even guess at some of the words.  I had noticed back in May that I couldn't hear very much when I lie down with my good ear on the pillow.  I can't even hear my own voice if my left ear is covered.

So, anyway, the doctor suggested a hearing aid, and is offering to kind of experiment with me because of my symphony situation--possibly trying different types to see what works best in that environment.
Because it's crucial that any device work while I'm playing, I'm waiting until the season starts in September to try a hearing aid.
Fortunately, my conductor has been aware of my situation from the beginning--and his brother is even a neurosurgeon, I believe, so he knows more about it.  I think he'll do whatever he can to help me once we see how a hearing aid might work for me.

Anyway, I'm kind of bummed about this latest turn of events.  I have my 2nd follow-up MRI on August 6th, so I guess I'll possibly know a little more after that.  Blech.  Stoopy tumor.