Brain Surgery on Wednesday

mrsptsu2012
mrsptsu2012 Member Posts: 63
in Lung Cancer #1
My husband is having surgery on Wednesday to remove the mass on his brain which spread from his lung. He is now caughing up blood. The doctor said it is about 1 cm and is located in a safe spot beneath the skull. I still don't know which kind; non-cell or small-cell nor do I have confirmation of stage IV. He has already gone 7 mos with the lung cancer without any kind of treatment and diagnosed in June with the tumor on the brain. This is atleast 3 mos with cancer in the brain without treatment. He is in good spirits and I am remaining hopeful. Someone please tell me what to expect.

Comments

  • Hondo
    Hondo Member Posts: 6,636 Member
    #2
    No treatment
    Why has he gone so long with out treatment the sooner you get the cancer under control the better chance you have of beating it. Question his doctors and see if they have a game plan and get a second opinion from one of the major cancer institutions like MD Anderson or Mayo clinic if you live near one of them.

    Wishing him well on his surgery
    Hondo
  • stayingcalm
    stayingcalm Member Posts: 650 Member
    #3
    mrsptsu2012
    Here's my favorite quote from a reasonably smart person - me :) Brain surgery is a lot harder on the surgeons than on the patient! It's true! In my experience, twice now, there was very little pain after surgery, just a bandage and (depending on the hospital) stitches or staples, which can come out in a week or two. There may be some scalp soreness, but the brain really has no feeling. Probably the first thing the doc will ask is for him to raise whichever arm is on the opposite side from the surgery.

    Best of luck to your husband!
    stayingcalm
  • lekkerone
    lekkerone Member Posts: 199 Member
    #4
    stayingcalm said:

    mrsptsu2012
    Here's my favorite quote from a reasonably smart person - me :) Brain surgery is a lot harder on the surgeons than on the patient! It's true! In my experience, twice now, there was very little pain after surgery, just a bandage and (depending on the hospital) stitches or staples, which can come out in a week or two. There may be some scalp soreness, but the brain really has no feeling. Probably the first thing the doc will ask is for him to raise whichever arm is on the opposite side from the surgery.

    Best of luck to your husband!
    stayingcalm

    Nice Deb
    That is the best think you could say to a candidate for brain surgery. I am sure the OP has to feel better about her husband's surgery.
  • mrsptsu2012
    mrsptsu2012 Member Posts: 63
    #5
    stayingcalm said:

    mrsptsu2012
    Here's my favorite quote from a reasonably smart person - me :) Brain surgery is a lot harder on the surgeons than on the patient! It's true! In my experience, twice now, there was very little pain after surgery, just a bandage and (depending on the hospital) stitches or staples, which can come out in a week or two. There may be some scalp soreness, but the brain really has no feeling. Probably the first thing the doc will ask is for him to raise whichever arm is on the opposite side from the surgery.

    Best of luck to your husband!
    stayingcalm

    Surgery Cancelled
    The surgery which was scheduled for tomorrow has been cancelled due to the fact the tumor has grown. They are going to begin radiation. That's all the information I have for now; I still have not been able to speak with his doctors. Due to the fact my husband is an inmate I am limited on what or how I get needed information. They are not treated as human beings in there. In his case, it's beginning to look as if he has been set up to die with this. Sorry, but this it how it seems to the both of us. However, it is not up to them; he is in God's hands.
  • mrsptsu2012
    mrsptsu2012 Member Posts: 63
    #6
    Hondo said:

    No treatment
    Why has he gone so long with out treatment the sooner you get the cancer under control the better chance you have of beating it. Question his doctors and see if they have a game plan and get a second opinion from one of the major cancer institutions like MD Anderson or Mayo clinic if you live near one of them.

    Wishing him well on his surgery
    Hondo

    My husband is an inmate. They took x-rays last Sept and a CAT Scan last October. It took until May of this year to get a biopsy done on the lung (which at that time was the only place the cancer was located). In June an additional CAT scan was performed on the brain when the tumor was found there as well. It took two months from then to get him in to see a nuerologist at which time they sent the wrong CT Scan (they sent the one from Oct. 2010)and the nuerologist couldn't do anything with the wrong scan but informed my husband as of October of last year he did not have the tumor on his brain. That appointment was on July 18th. Once the nuerologist saw the right scan the tumor was only 1cm. Therefore; surgery was scheduled. Now that they followed up with a new scan, the tumor has grown too much for the surgery. They performed another biopsy of the lung today (don't know why). Can anyone tell me why a second biopsy would be performed and why the surgery would be cancelled because of the tumor growing? I am really in the dark with all of this.

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