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.
Hello all,
Thank you for visiting.
Most, if not all, of you already know that my beautiful wife, Satomi, has been a survivor of breast cancer for nearly a year now. She had been given a clean bill of health after chemo, painful operations, and radiation. All was well and our family was very happy. We once again looked to the future and focused on raising our daughters Kandice and Jillian.
In late 2008, Satomi was experiencing minor but persistent double vision problems. Everyone knows that her eyesight is terrible so we attributed it to a problem set of contacts. To be prudent, we visited an Opthalmologist and replaced her contacts. Surprisingly, her eyesight continued to be a nuisance. A routine head MRI was ordered.
Last Tuesday (April 7th, 2009) our Oncologist called with the results: a 1.6cm tumor in the left rear portion of Satomi’s brain. Its growth was affecting the nerves which control eye movement. Hence her double vision problem. On Wednesday we met with a Neurosurgeon.
First and foremost, I am writing this blog to keep all of you up to date with her illness. I apologize that I cannot communicate in a more personal manner. I am just not strong enough to communicate news and maintain a facade of optimism.
When Satomi was first diagnosed with cancer in late 2007, I was lucky enough to attend group counseling sessions for spouses of cancer patients. It may surprise you that programs like this are quite rare. While I did see several limitations to the sessions, the truth of the matter is that it was an outlet to vocalize my internal struggles. I am hopeful that this blog thing will also serve as a means of self-therapy. God knows I need it.
I will make all efforts to update this blog on a regular and frequent basis but at this point, I can’t make any promises.
Sean
Satomi's Cancer Blog 