Who knew?

I'm learning new things each and every day regarding living with a brain tumour. The one thing I assumed, and incorrectly apparently, was that side effects from treatment would be immediate or within weeks, I mean things have to manifest quickly, right? I mean, I know they can stick with you for a while, but surely they aren't going to pop up a year or two down the road, that would just be ridiculous. It turns out that with any cancer treatment, if you're one of the lucky ones to get years, that side effects can indeed pop up months or even years down the road. And the side effects may not be what you expect.

I have many of the classic side effects from  surgery, chemo and radiation; hair that won't grow back in certain areas, seizures (although quite controlled right now), memory issues, vision issues, hearing issues, comprehension issues, etc. And I'm also battling this "woman issue" of mine. My Drs (all male) seem to think that early menopause isn't a side effect of treatment, despite what I've researched and read in many places, including Columbia University Medical Center's Department of Neurology website. But I digress. For the last 10 days or so, I've been experiencing some swelling in my lower legs. Nothing too massive, but something that made me take notice. So I checked in with "Dr.Google" just to see what can cause this type of thing, as it's never happened to me before. I learned that brain tumour patients are at a high risk to develop DVT, or Deep Vein Thrombosis. Not cool. Now I don't want to become a hypochondriac and think that everything is happening to me, or something I have, so I kind of filed it away to the back of my brain for general knowledge that's good to have. I started icing my legs in hopes that it would bring the swelling down and crossed my fingers. Just my luck......it got worse. lol And now I have edema in my ankle areas so severe that you can press on my bones and a large indentation will appear and stay. So, not wanting to be a hypochondriac, but realizing that I live a "new normal," I packed up and went to the ER. Thankfully, the hospital totally "got it" and took it seriously. When the Dr saw me, he said that while he doesn't think it is DVT, he wanted to be 100% certain considering my risk factors. So I had bloodwork and ultrasound done. Thankfully both came back negative and I was able to come home, and tomorrow I meet with my family Dr to see what exactly is going on.

~Tara

MRI Results - Next scan in 6 months

I can't believe I forgot to update everyone with my MRI results. Actually I think I called most people this time around. lol Thankfully it was "no evidence of disease progression", that means my next MRI is in 6 months. November 9 to be exact. Now I just need to behave in the meantime. :)

~Tara