Meeting with the Neurosurgeon

On Wednesday we met with a Neurosurgeon.  The news was not good but not completely bad either. 

Even considering Satomi’s history of cancer, the tumor still had a 90% chance of being benign.  That sounds pretty damn good if you could see beyond the fact that this grape-sized mass is in the middle of her brain.  

As it was explained to us, if the tumor is benign, it is likely a fatty mass that was slowly growing for many years and just coincidentally exposed itself now.  If it is cancer, it had been growing steadily over these past months.  There are signs of localized swelling but no apparent problems from it. 

All involved Doctors agree that the MRI seems to show a benign mass but the only way to know with certainty is to biopsy it.  It’s location makes a needle biopsy not an option; The tumor must be visualized and biopsied by hand.  If it is a benign mass, they will take the oppurtunity to remove it.

The Neurosurgeon was quite confident that the surgery would be fairly straightforward.  There is some risk of hearing loss and a temporary worsening of the double vision.  On a serious note, there is also risk of stroke.

The Neurosurgeon emphasized that time was of the essence.  If the tumor was cancerous, prompt diagnosis and treatment is essential. 

We scheduled the operation for Thursday April 16th.  At least for now, I won’t waste my energy or tears on the 10% possibility of cancer.