......IN A HEARTBEAT
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LITTLE LAURA wrote:
The lab results finally came back at the beginning of this week. My Nephew's tumour is......BENIGN !!! I am soooo relieved. Now he has to concentrate on recovery which the Drs say will be slow. He's frustrated as there are so many things he still can't do yet. The Docs say the tumour was in his brain for nearly 20 years (!) , growing slowly until his brain couldn't cope anymore. The Docs say because of this, it will be some time to recover completely, but they're optimistic he will.
Yeah I was on anti-anxiety meds already bcause of other pressures/traumas. Of course this really ramped it up to pretty well full time. But my Doc refuses to up the dose. I see him soon, and I'm gonna make sure he knows just how bad this session has been!
But I'm so happy the tumour was benign!!!
So happy to hear this! (I read your other thread/post before this one) I also had a benign meningioma brain tumor in 2011. They are slow-growing and my surgeon (who is also a big Paul/Beatles fan!) said mine could have been growing since I was young! It was about the size of a walnut. During the surgery he played Beatles music and he said when he took it out he held it up and said "I dub thee Yoko!"
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That's so funny! Glad yours worked out too. Hmmmm...sometimes makes me wonder if I got one. Long before my nephew, I started getting odd sensations/symptoms in my head. But they always come and go. Probably don't have one. But it does make one wonder if these things run in families. Ahhh.....I'm probably just crazy! LOL
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LITTLE LAURA wrote:
That's so funny! Glad yours worked out too. Hmmmm...sometimes makes me wonder if I got one. Long before my nephew, I started getting odd sensations/symptoms in my head. But they always come and go. Probably don't have one. But it does make one wonder if these things run in families. Ahhh.....I'm probably just crazy! LOL
I never would have known (had no symptoms listed in link below) except I went to my eye doctor and I told him my right eye looked like it was bulging out a tiny bit. He measured and said it was a small amount, so he ordered an MRI of my head. That's when they found the tumor, which was not behind my eye as he thought, but was outside of my brain, above my right eye.
Definition:
A usually noncancerous tumor that arises from the membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord.
It isn't clear what causes a meningioma. Radiation therapy, female hormones, and genetics may play a role. In most cases, the condition is noncancerous.
Did the doctor tell you what type of tumor your brother had?
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My nephew is slowly recovering. His last Dr. visit he learned it could take a full year to come back. And may not come back fully. A tumour the size of a hen's egg does a lot of displacing. He's still having trouble with patiance but some of his old humour is coming back. It's not even been three months since surgery yet.
I'm coping in ground zero, (care home) of the pandemic. We are in lockdown. I've been doing several covid 19--inspired cartoons and inspirational drawings, mostly.
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LITTLE LAURA wrote:
My nephew is slowly recovering. His last Dr. visit he learned it could take a full year to come back. And may not come back fully. A tumour the size of a hen's egg does a lot of displacing. He's still having trouble with patiance but some of his old humour is coming back. It's not even been three months since surgery yet.
I'm coping in ground zero, (care home) of the pandemic. We are in lockdown. I've been doing several covid 19--inspired cartoons and inspirational drawings, mostly.
You never said what kind of tumor the doctor said it was. Glad he is recovering, albeit slowly.
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A brain tumour. What kind I don't know. The specialist thinks it had been growing--slowly--in the back of his head for nearly 20 years. The changes would've been subtle over the years. Until it got unmanagable for the brain. Then came the headaches, dizziness, loss of balance, eye sensitivity, inability to concentrate, and temper problems. These excalated quickly over the last 3 months before diagnosis. He did go to the Emergency--twice--they told him it was stress. Then he collasped big time. And they finally ran the big tests: MRI, CAT, etc. The rest you know. It has been a scary time.
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LITTLE LAURA wrote:
A brain tumour. What kind I don't know. The specialist thinks it had been growing--slowly--in the back of his head for nearly 20 years. The changes would've been subtle over the years. Until it got unmanagable for the brain. Then came the headaches, dizziness, loss of balance, eye sensitivity, inability to concentrate, and temper problems. These excalated quickly over the last 3 months before diagnosis. He did go to the Emergency--twice--they told him it was stress. Then he collasped big time. And they finally ran the big tests: MRI, CAT, etc. The rest you know. It has been a scary time.
But was it benign or malignant? Surely they must have told you that? If it was slow growing, sounds like a benign meningioma which is what I had. Never had any symptoms like he had though. And after its removal, had no problems or side effects, except occasional migraines that are focused at the tumor site.
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It was benign. But he's going to be checked once a year for a while. This is what he was also told at his last checkup last week. It may have been benign, but as it grew (from back of his head), it pushed aside a lot of the brain in it's path. Those symptoms I mentioned did occur in the last three months before he collasped. Before that he said he really didn't feel anything much amiss. The odd symptom was easily explained away as something else.
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Mourning the sudden loss of a dear friend in hospital. Couldn't visit. And I can't help much his wife, with this lockdown. Feeling sad and helpless.
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LITTLE LAURA wrote:
Mourning the sudden loss of a dear friend in hospital. Couldn't visit. And I can't help much his wife, with this lockdown. Feeling sad and helpless.
So sorry to hear this - was it from Covid-19?
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No. He was very sick in the end with kidney failure among other medical issues. Still it came/comes as a shock. He seemed so.....solid. A very intense personality-how could he be gone? At least the end was peaceful and his wife was allowed to be with him. A blessing I guess in these times. I'm gonna really miss him--and our political debates.
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More bad news, I afraid. (Is my life "Peyton Place" or what???). My older brother has been diagnosed with inoperable cancer. They say with chemo/radiation therapy he could have 5-10 yrs left. AND, as if that isn't enough, at the same time, my nephew found a new lump-in his chest. They're working on that too. I'm gonna find the newerst hole and climb into it. Lookout groundhog, your place is looking mighty good right now................
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Got a question for y'all. You know I live in an Assisted Living facility. Which has been under lockdown since March. This means while residents can go out occasionally, (Dr visits, etc), until very recently no one could enter to visit. Now we can have visits--but registered and outside. Well about 10 days ago, the Head Office chose to allow a new manager for another facility to live in ours. Not only that, but on weekends, his family can come, and stay here, weekends with him! This means at least 2 people who don't live or work here are constantly coming and going, bringing whatever virus rhey have come into contact with them with them as well. By my understanding, this is breaking Covid-19 Protocol rules--big time. What. We residents just sit here and hope nothing happens? What do you think?
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LITTLE LAURA wrote:
Got a question for y'all. You know I live in an Assisted Living facility. Which has been under lockdown since March. This means while residents can go out occasionally, (Dr visits, etc), until very recently no one could enter to visit. Now we can have visits--but registered and outside. Well about 10 days ago, the Head Office chose to allow a new manager for another facility to live in ours. Not only that, but on weekends, his family can come, and stay here, weekends with him! This means at least 2 people who don't live or work here are constantly coming and going, bringing whatever virus rhey have come into contact with them with them as well. By my understanding, this is breaking Covid-19 Protocol rules--big time. What. We residents just sit here and hope nothing happens? What do you think?
First, so sorry to hear about your brother and nephew! What types of cancer are they?
As to the Assisted Living situation, that is just wrong! I would call someone higher up in the company that owns the facility and complain. Next step would be to speak to local health department to report them. Heck, call your local TV news and talk to their consumer advocate.
You CAN fight city hall - when I had to bring my dad down to GA after he broke his hip, his house was vacant for quite awhile. The water co. sent a notice saying it was mandatory to change the inside meters, so I let them. Then we get an outrageous over $1000 water bill! I called consumer's advocates, the water co., the Mayor's office in Cleveland, OH, etc. and later, after the house was sold, the money for the bill which I refused to pay (which had been held in escrow) was sent to me in a check!! I had given up ever seeing that money! The water company apparently finally realized there was no leak and no way we could have used that much water in an empty house (we immediately had the main line shut off at the street after the high bill arrived)
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I did get in touch with the local Health Authority, and they did get back to me today. (actually twice). They say they ARE acting on it and mine's not the only complaint they've had on this. They are particularly alarmed at the family coming and going. They assured me that when the "deal" was set up, this new manager was supposed to self-isolate for 2 weeks, AND it was supposed to be just him. So they are investigatinng. There is a "meeting" with head office rep, on Thursday, but I don't hold much sway with that. Just a company "yes man" I expect. But he'll sure get grilled. As for the "owners": Canada's stupid Federal Gov't and B.C.'s Gov't allowed a Chinese conglomerate to buy us. They were kicked aside and we are now owned by guess who? The Chinese Gov't. Good luck with them!!!! We residents knew something like this would happen. Sigh....................Word of advice: find out who actually owns these places before you place a loved one in it.
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---as for the type of cancers my Brother & Nephew have I don't know their names. Just that my nephew's brain tumour was benign. They think the new one is too.
My brother has cancer in 3 of his organs. Stage 4. Grim. Tho they hope chemo/radiation will help.
Any and all details I get depends on what my brother & nephew decided to talk about. All I can do is try to be there for them and try not to collapse into a emotional wreck.
But with my sister's meningitis last Christmas, then my nephew's brain tumour, my elderly Mother's slow decline, and now my brother's cancer, I can't help feeling my family is imploding on me. It's....tough.
..............at least I still got you guys.
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so sorry to har all that and hoping and praying things get better for you all. Christmas miracles really happen, and large and small
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Well my brother was rushed to hospital last week--but he rallied and is back home. (BIG sigh). I've been battling an infection near my only kidney. They say with a lot of stress you are much more vulnerable to being sick. I guess they're right. I just realized I've been on Macca since 2003. 17 years! Tho I guess there are lots who have been here longer. I wonder who's been here the longest?
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UPDATE:
My older brother's cancer, after radiarion/chemotherapy has shrunk 65%. So that's good. My Nephew still has issues with recovery regarding his brain tumour/surgery, but is plugging along. My Mom has deteriorated dementia-wise. My sister, who also has health issues, is pretty uncommunitive so don't know much about her which is an ongoing worry. And I'm still battling with anxiety. I finished a "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy" online Zoom course (due to Covid). Considering about taking the next level. Maybe I should.
......now where's me Prozac!
On the good side I've done some more art work, including a couple of commissions of portraits. Got paid too! Waiting for pix for another commission. I think that's what I need--to feel useful. And be busy with something. This Pandemic sure brings out demons for some doesn't it! Or are all artists anxiety-ridden?!!!
Thank God for Paul!!!
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^ Laura, happy for your good news, sorry about bad news - my mom is in the early stages of dementia, so I relate there. And I have a cousin up in Pittsburgh who is in a nursing home, just had back surgery recently, is still in a wheelchair, and has been diagnosed with dementia and psychosis. She's 80. I talked to her the other day and she was pretty lucid though.
I may have asked you this before, but I don't think you answered - are you on any medication for anxiety? If you want to PM me, I can tell you some things that may help.
Take care - thinking of you!
(I PMed you)