Wonderful!!!!!!
Appears he has work yet to do....good for him...I am so glad the surgery went well..
Linda C

Good news! Let's hope his recovery goes smoothly.

Great news Linda.

Ann

Glad to hear that all went well! Sending more good wishes for a full recovery!
Ellen

such good news. positive thoughts for a smooth recovery,

janet

Glad to hear the good news.

I am so happy to hear this. I hope his recovery continues to go well.

that is great news, Linda. I'll be keeping you all in my prayers for a fast and complete recovery.

Annie

Wooo Hooooo!

Sally

Linda, Now you can breathe! Good news, is always welcome I say.

Excellent news! Now on to a speedy recovery!

Alexa

That's great Linda! I hope all continues to go well.

Beverly

YAY! I'm so glad to hear the good news.

Great news! Still praying that he will over come what ever it is.

Glad to hear the good news.

Thanks, we are all pretty relieved, too!

He is still heavily sedated, but responsive. The docs say due to his age it will take a few days for any noticeable (to us) results.

Thanks again for all the prayers and support!

Linda

Happy to hear the surgery went well! Hope they get good news from the MRI.

Thank Goodness!!!

Oh my....seems the news has taken a terrible turn.

It is 10:30pm and I just got a call from my sister.

Apparently either last night or this morning Frank's son stopped in at the hospital for a visit. While he was there the surgeon came in and they began talking. The surgeon told him that although things look fine right now, the type of tumor he had is of a type that will grow back, and even with some radiation and chemo Frank probably only has 12-18 months to live.

WHAT???? Am I missing something here? Is there a reason they did not tell them about this BEFORE they made the decision to have this very invasive surgery? They told them that without the surgery he would have 3-6 months.

So with the surgery...and chemo...and rehab he only prolongs his life by 6-12 motnhs?

Am I wrong to be angry about this? On Monday when we left the hospital we all were relieved and believed he would make a full recovery. What good is a full recovery if you'll be gone in a year?

My mom is a mess, but it is too late in the evening to call her, I have to wait until morning.

Dammit!

Linda

I don't think you are wrong to be angry. They did a biopsy a few days ago, so they should have explained about the type of tumor at that time.

That being said, you should know that doctors are supposed to warn us of the worst possible outcomes, but those do not always come to pass.

I'm a long-term survivor of a different type of cancer, and one thing I learned is that, in spite of survival percentages and estimates given,
nothing is 100%.

There are always patients who beat the odds, and I'm hoping Frank will be one of them.

Oh I'd be steamed too! My heart goes out to your mom. What a crushing blow!

Right now we're going through something similar with my MIL. The doctors won't do any type of invasive procedure or chemo, although she's 91, alert and in otherwise good health, they're not suggesting prolonging her life. The oncologist felt that the treatment would be far worse than letting the disease take its course. The surgeon or oncologist certainly should have given Frank (or the family) that option.

One further thought is that perhaps the surgeon needed a frozen tissue sample after removing the tumor to know exactly the type of lesion that was there. How's Frank doing recovery-wise?

I'm very sorry to hear this news. But, I think the reason they chose to do the surgery is because they have to get the tumor out to biopsy it in order to determine what type and stage it is. That kind of info is not always evident on scans. Also, with brain tumors it is very hard to tell whether they got all of it. Even with my tumor that was removed, the surgeon says he got all of it. But, if he left even a "cell" the size of a grain of salt (or even smaller) it can easily grow back, and mine is a slow growing tumor. Also, I have learned that brains are very unpredictable. My uncle that I spoke of in an earlier post passed away on Tuesday from his brain tumor. He had the exact kind as Ted Kennedy and was diagnosed after Ted K. My uncle is now gone, but Ted K. is still alive. And, although my uncle lived only 8 short months after his diagnosis, I can guarantee you that if he were here to speak to you, he would tell you that the surgery, chemo, and radiation were worth it. It bought him some wonderful quality time with his family (his prognosis without surgery, chemo, and radiation was just a few weeks). He was able to enjoy quite a bit in those extra months and he had a good quality of life through most of it.

Also, not doing anything might not have been the best alternative, either depending on the location. Sometimes you have to remove the tumor just to preserve some quality of life for the time a person has. Just this week my former neighbor (49 years old) had an aneurysm, which turned out to be caused by a brain tumor they did not know he had. He is currently unresponsive, in a coma with probable significant brain damage. Even though removing a tumor might only prolong a life by a few months, it would be much better than letting it cause something as devastating as my friend now has.

Hopefully, Frank will recover quickly and without complications from this surgery. I'll keep him in my thoughts because the most important thing I have learned in all my research on brains and brain tumors, is that they really know very little. Brains are totally different than other parts of the body. All brains react differently, and they are never able to predict -- it's really just guessing. Remain hopeful.

I'd also like to add that my very good friend with a glioma was told that she could expect 5 years max. She is now 9 years out from her surgery and treatments, and is a practicing pediatrician and mother of 3 very busy teenagers -- with no sign of her tumor coming back. You really just never know and have to give it your best shot. As another friend once told me, "Even if they say there is a 1% chance of survival, you might as well go for it, because someone has to beat it to make it 1% -- otherwise it would be 0%. You might as well make that 1% you."

Still thinking good thoughts for Frank.

Well he!!, that's not at all what I expected to hear. I'll keep Frank and the wholel family in my prayers, I'm never ashamed to ask for a miracle and we sure won't get what we never ask for.

I'd also be angry, I think a patient and family should be able to make a choice, instead of having that choice made by someone else. Mostly, though, I'd be angry because I wasn't given all the information, regardless of the prognosis. Sigh.

Hugs to you, and an extra one for your Mom. I'm just sorry to hear that it's not as good as you were led to believe.

Annie

Linda, I'm so sorry to hear this news. I have a similar story with my Mom. She knew the cancer would take her and was given the option to have the surgery and hopefully live an additional few (5-7) years. Knowing she may not make it out of surgery she opted, anyway, to have the surgery. She did not want to live with cancer having buried two husbands with cancer. She made it out of surgery and lived an additional 7 days in ICU. Before the surgery they told her they would be able to get most of the cancer, even though it would come back eventually, but once the surgeon got in there it was all wrapped up in her aorta. She would not have lived the additional 5-7 years anyway. She was only 70 years old and took the chance to live her life cancer free for a short period of time...it was her choice even though we did not want her to do the surgery.

We all want the doctors to do their job, as we all think they should save us, but in reality, doctors are only as good as the test they receive and at best, test are just that...test.

I'm so sorry that you and your family will have to go through this. It's so hard and you will be angry for awhile.

I know you and I know that you will be at your Mom's side for part of her support network. You are a good daughter to your Mom and she is lucky to have you.

I also meant to say that, although our stories are different, they are somewhat similar.

I talked to my mom this morning and they are taking this one day at a time. It has been four days and Frank is, for the most part, unresponsive. She said he has opened an eye, made a grunt when she talked to him yesterday and scratched his chin. Other than that he can/will not move his fingers and toes when the nurses ask, has not spoken yet, and remains unconsious or asleep most of the time.

Dlynn, thanks for all the info on brain tumors. I really appreciate your first-hand experience.

I guess the part I am angry about is that it seems the family wasn't given all of the information and options prior to the surgery. They may have made the same choice, but they were entitled to all of the facts beforehand.

Petaloid, that is what I don't understand...they did not do a biopsy before doing surgery. They did some MRI's and who knows what else, determined it was cancer and rushed into getting this surgery done ASAP.

Well....one day at a time.

Thanks for your continued prayers. Ype, it's all about a miracle,now I'm afraid.

Linda

Hi Linda. I just wanted wanted to add my support and will keep your family in my thoughts.

Linda, Biopsies aren't usually done on brain tumors before the surgical removal because that would usaully entail brain surgery just to see what kind it is and then another surgery to remove it (every time you open the skull you run the risk of infection and swelling -- neither of which are good in the brain). And, depending on the location of the tumor, the biopsy itself could be quite invasive and risky. Also, some types of brain tumors are extremely fast growing (can grow in a matter of weeks), and you would not want to waste precious time leaving it inside the brain to grow some more (possibly causing further brain damage or making it even more difficult to remove) while you wait on the results of the biopsy.

It's still very early for someone of Frank's age. I know it's difficult on the family, but hang in there. We are all here with you. Hugs to you and your mom.

Linda, I just prayed for a miracle. You and your family are in my prayers.