Hi. I just decided to join this forum in hopes of getting some feedback about what I should do next. I self-dianosed this tumor over the summer and went to a private lab to have an MRI. Brought home MRI and looked at it on my computer, really expecting to see nothing unusual because I had convinced myself it can't be an AN because I'm never dizzy! ...and there it was. My heart skipped a beat and I felt like I was on the edge panicking. But the more I have read, the less frightening it becomes. So, after a few weeks of intentionally staying busy with other things, and trying to forget it was there...I finally realized I needed to have the MRI read. I made an appointment with a local hopsital to have a neurologist read the MRI to determine the size. I was told "about 1cm". I wasn't impressed with this particular ENT because he had no personality and he had little to no experience with these so I went to a competing hospital system and that ENT told me the same MRI read 1 1/2 cm! I later learned I could call the House Clinic and get a free consult, so I forwarded all my info and MRI. Within a week, Dr. Goddard contacted me and explained to me, very kindly, that the MRI was not a very clear one (because it wasn't specific to the inner ear) and from what he could tell, it looked like it measured 2 cm! Good grief...it keeps getting bigger on the scan!! Since I live in SC, he suggested I contact MUSC. I did so and just met with Dr. Lambert and his staff yesterday. They ran another MRI and he said my AN is 2 1/2 cm! Now here are the pertinent facts: I'm 45 yo, in great health, have slight numbing sensation in my jaw area closer to my effected ear (I notice this now that I know it is a symptom, whereas I don't know that I would have noticed it before). I have a slight decrease in taste. Of course, I have ringing in the ear constantly. There have been stabbing pains rarely in that ear. I have only been dizzy once for a couple days over the summer when I got hot outside. Dr. Lambert said I could W & W and have another MRI in 3 months to see if it grows. He also said mine has a large cyst in it, so those tend to grow faster than more dense ANs. Has anyone heard of this? He also suggested Gamma Knife as an option. But I thought my tumor was too big for this from information I have been reading. I mentioned being concerned about the swelling with radiation and also the 20plus year unknowns. He also suggested the translab surgery approach. I just don't know what to do at this point. I have talked with two women who had surgeries for tumors smaller than mine and one lady who had a smaller tumor treated with radiation. All were younger than me by a couple of years. Does anyone have thoughts on which option you would lean toward? Sorry for all the details.... Thanks for any comments!
