MRI Results

Dr. Nakaji's nurse practitioner called this morning with my functional MRI results (also known as "MRI mapping".)  She said that a good part of the tumor is not on or near my motor strip so Doctor should have no problem removing that portion which was great news.  She also had some not-so-great news: the other part of the tumor is covering much more of the motor strip than the original MRI showed which means a few things:

1.  He will be leaving much more of the tumor behind than originally anticipated

2.  Once the tumor goes through pathology and is considered cancerous I will be doing radiation and chemo therapy to reduce the size of the remaining tumor

On the bright side here are some other things the results confirmed:

1.  I will NOT be having an awake surgery.  The reason an awake surgery was considered would be so my Dr. could be extremely aggressive with the removal of the tumor.  I would need to be awake in order for them to test my motor skills while he was cutting.  The original MRI indicated this would be a possibility, risk of paralysis would be a little greater, but it would be potentially worth it because the entire tumor would be gone.

2.  I will most likely have NO paralysis!!  This is fantastic news in my opinion!  The reason I run a low risk to any paralysis is the Dr. is going to be a lot less aggressive thus eliminating most of the risk of any paralysis.  I will still be hooked to sensors (officially known as evoked potential monitoring) during the surgery that will alert my Dr. if he is getting too close to the motor strip so he knows to back off.  The nurse said she expects me to come through the surgery with flying colors and I might even be home within 3 days!!

3.  There is STILL a chance the tumor in NOT cancerous.  Every doctor and radiologist that has looked at my tumor through X-ray has said it looks malignant, BUT no one can be sure until it is biopsied.  If, in fact, it is NOT cancerous, I will be DONE with all of this after surgery, just routine MRI's to ensure the tumor has not grown or changed since surgery.  That would be amazing!

She confirmed that I still wanted to go forward with surgery or gave me the option to meet with Dr. Nakaji again to discuss further options.  I immediately told her I want the surgery and she said she'd let the scheduler know and that we are anxious to get this going.  When I hung up the phone, I wondered why she would ask if I wanted to talk to the Dr. again?  I mean, what more is there to talk about?  My mind began to wander...

I believe a second consultation would be to discuss NOT removing the tumor at this time or simply taking a biopsy of the tumor, before removing most of it, to confirm it is cancerous.  After thinking about that, I stand firm in my decision to remove as much of the tumor as possible--it seems like the only option to me.  In the slim chance that it isn't malignant, it is still in there growing, changing, giving me seizures and could potentially grow into cancer anyway.  Even if it isn't malignant, I think I will be glad that a good chunk of it will be gone from my brain.

One of the biggest blessings in all of this, that I haven't mentioned yet, is that my health insurance covers all of this 100% unlimited after we meet our deductible of $7000.  I've already heard 100's of horror stories where people have had to fore go chemo pills, radiation treatments, or even surgery because their insurance reached the maximum.  Other's who have gone bankrupt because their chemo, anti-nausea, etc pills cost $1,100.00 dollars a week.  A week!  I am SO blessed!

Yes, I have a brain tumor, but I have the BEST doctor at the BEST facility, wonderful insurance, and the BEST family and friends who have been rallying around me since my diagnosis.  The prayers ARE working.  THE PRAYERS ARE WORKING!  Thank you for the prayers!  I am more confident than ever that I will be back to my normal self before any of you know it :).