I’m sending prayers your way.
Hugs to you all. I’m so glad you found a neurosurgeon you feel
comfortable with. Jason’s tumor is nearly the size mine was at
discovery/surgery (2.5 cm). My doctor went under the lip (that was 6.5
years ago though) and also talked about how both careful and aggressive he
wanted to be because of how young I was. (Same age as Jason I believe).
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
I sincerely hope and pray they can get all
of his tumor, but please also keep in mind that it may wind up being safer not
to get it all. My tumor had grown around the carotid artery and my
neurosurgeon decided it was safest not to dig too much deeper (and my surgery’d
already taken longer than it was supposed to.) My mother was extremely
angry with him for not taking it all but it was honestly much safer for me that
the doctor didn’t poke around in dangerous territory.<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
My doctor also sent me straight to
radiation following my release from the hospital post-op, his reasoning being
that because I was so young, we needed to attack the tumor aggressively because
I’d have longer time and therefore more chance for it to grow back down
the road. This was indeed good reasoning but I regret not being well
informed before consenting to radiation immediately. (It was the
radiation doctors who did not inform me as well as they should have.) If
I’d know then what I know now regarding side effects etc, I would have
waited first to see how effective the surgery was before jumping straight into
radiation. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
At any rate, the surgery/radiation has
been successful for me so far. I have my suspicions that my estrogen etc.
hormones are finally disappearing (according to current symptoms) because of the
radiation, which I will discover soon when I see my endo next month, but my
IGF-1 and Growth Hormone levels have been normal ever since and the tumor has
not grown. <o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Maria Ramey<o:p></o:p>
[EMAIL PROTECTED]<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
Personal Sites:<o:p></o:p>
Latest News/Photos- www.rameynews.com<o:p></o:p>
Flute Site- www.flutecorner.com<o:p></o:p>
Gift Shop- www.rameygifts.com<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
<o:p></o:p>
From: <st1:PersonName
w:st="on">Pituitary Chat</st1:PersonName> [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Sunday, July 10, 2005 7:09
PM
To: <st1:PersonName w:st="on">Pituitary
Chat</st1:PersonName>
Subject: Ogy's Surgery is tomorrow<o:p></o:p>
<o:p> </o:p>
Hi
everyone - I wanted to let you know that Jason's surgery is scheduled for
tomorrow. We have had a difficult time deciding where to go, but it was made
easier by the knowledge that a neurosurgeon has come on staff at Froedtert that
we feel will provide Jason with excellent care. We did consider other
facilities, but we could not get in until the end of the month, and Jason
decided that he wanted the tumor out. I don't blame him this has been a
horrible year. Jason's neurosurgeon does the surgery both through the nose, or
through the lip. At this point he is confident that he will be able to complete
the surgery through the nose, but has not ruled out an opening through the
lip. He said he wants the best view possible because Jason is so young.
Jason's tumor grew from 1.7 cm to 2.3 cm. Obviously I am kicking myself up and
down the block because we did not remove the **#*#** thing when it was first
discovered. I pray to God that I have not made a decision that makes the
complete removal of his tumor impossible. Tomorrow we will have more answers.
Take care all - Chris - Ogy's Mom<o:p></o:p>
