The Radiation Consult – Oct. 12

On Oct. 23 Jeff and I met with Dr. "S", a radiation specialist and co-founder of the Gamma Knife Institute at the University of Minnesota. Gamma knife is a one-time radiation treatment used to treat AN. This appointment was the first time that we were able to look at my MRI scans and see the tumor – that is something I’ll never forget. It’s large and white (about 2 cm. by 1.7 cm) and there’s no missing it.

We had been doing a lot of research about AN and the various treatments so when we met with Dr. S we already knew that this was a one time outpatient treatment option that would radiate my tumor and slowly kill it over time. Dr. S was very nice and explained things in a simple and thorough way. My biggest concern was whether or not the tumor could come back after radiation and Dr. S said there was only a one percent change that it would – I liked this answer. From our research we had learned that radiated tumors are much more difficult to treat if they come back. They return in a fragmented state, which makes radiating them again or removing them surgically much more difficult and risky.

I left this appointment feeling like gamma knife was definitely an option to be considered, but I was anxious for the surgical consult so we could start weighing the pros and cons and start to determine which route to go. Over the next few days I thought a lot about the gamma knife treatment and wondered if I had the treatment if I could psychologically deal with knowing I had a tumor in my brain while waiting a year to find out if the treatment had worked or not. The doctors won't do a follow-up MRI for a year because they said prior to that the tumor wouldn’t shrink enough for them to know for sure if the treatment had been successful or not.