Grade 3, an anaplastic astrocytoma

Hello everyone,

My mother (age 54) is dignosed with grade 3 astrocytoma on 7th June 2013 in her right front, she started showing the symptoms from 2nd June, we then immediately admitted her in the hospital. From MRI doctors were not sure about the type of the tumor, so she underwent a biopsy for confirmation and finally it was confirmed that it is a grade 3 astrocytoma. its been 3 days, she is still unconscious (feeling pain when doctors pinch her) because of the brain edema. Doctors are saying the tumor is big around 5-6cm and cannot be operated upon. My entire family is praying for her we are two brothers and my father, the doctors currently are saying let her come out of the unconscioue and then they will decide on the next steps. Can someone please tell me if there are any good institutes in the US which are conducting clinical trials which have been helpful previously Or can someone please guide us who has faced the same situation on what would be the next steps. We are holding on very strongly and god will again give her good health we all believe that.

please guide us!

may god be with you all.

Rajas

My son was diagnosed with anaplastic astrocytoma in early 2010 when he was 27.  He has 2 surgeries.  The first one in May and the 2nd in February in 2011.  He's still alive and kicking today.  His lasT 8 MRI's hae been amazing!  That's what's going on with my son, Ryan.

mikeb7710 said:

Grade 3 anaplastic astrocytoma brainstem

I went through the same thing, 5-2010  anaplastic astrocytma on the brain stem they called iit grade II then. now they are saying it was a grade  III back then, we did  surgery removed what they could , 5 weeks radiation and a year of Chemo therapy Temador,  they said it might come back, they never told me there was a 80% chance, which is what i read now on websites. had MRI every 6 months DR tells me great results, had one in april 2013 said the same thing looks great, started feeling my balance off, was told to drink more water I was dehydrated. Nov 2013 started feeling nausea again, more numbness on my right side, balance off, had MRI done in Dec 2013 said tumor is Back and has double in size in 7 months, looking at my MRI reports after last MRI. it had grown 1 mm on April 2013 MRI and i was never told about it, It was Always great results.  Now they are telling me surgery is not a option they could only remove 30%, radiation not much of option because they have alread used the max amount they could in that area, only option is chemo because i did good on it before. and they never said that would kill it, just help with systoms.   What do I do now?

definitely go with the chemo, for a lot of people it does slow tumor growth and relieve symptoms.  Also ask about Avastin, a medication that stops the tumor from creating its own blood supply and in up to 40% of cases stops or minimizes growth.  There is always hope; I have friends with GBM who have passed their 'prognosis' date by 3 years.

diamond24 said:

update on your daughter, son has it too
Hi,
My 17 year old son was also diagnosed with A astrocytoma III. It was a small tumor by his
thalamus. It was removed by an amazing surgeon. He had surgery in May, Proton radiation therapy for 6 weeks and is currently on his 3rd round of Temodar. (5 days per month, after taking it with radiation for 42 days.) His tumor was very difficult to diagnose and they are now certain it is from previous radiation he has had from two other tumors at age 5 and again at age 12. Hi MRI is clean at this time and he has no deficits at all. He is doing well on the temodar(fatigue, nauseated but controlled) Blood counts a little low but not bad. What is the dose of Temodar(if that is the chemo) my son takes 360mg per day x 5. Do you give her anti nausea meds? My life has been devoted to taking care of my son with Cancer and he truly is a walking miracle. He will continue with the chemo for about a year and have MRIs every two months for a while. Prayer, family and faith has helped us and I hope it can help you too.

My best to you and your daughter.

dd

Hi,

I have a 6 year old daughter with a thalamic tumor and all surgeons where we went said it can be totally removed because it is on thalamus. Where was our son operated?
Also we tried to went her at a proton clinic and we were refused because of the tumor grade. Did your son made the proton therapy in U.S.A?

Best regards,

Sanda.

Jemntheholograms said:

Survival

Hi there! I specifically created an account so I could write this to you.  My mother was diagnosed at age 36...She had been acting strangely for a few days- then had a seizure at work.  We were absolutely devastated.  I was barely 16 at the time so she hid from me how long they "gave" her- a whopping 2-3 years max. She had surgery. She did both chemo and radiation.  It was tough on her - she was sick a lot and upset a bit about her hair...but She kept her attitude beyond positive.  As a family we kept her laughing hysterically every chance we got And absolutely refused to ever let her be upset about it. 

 

She turns 49 this coming September.  They cant find a trace of the cancer. She's happy. She's healthy. And you wouldn't know what she's been through unless you asked.  I'm beyond proud of her.  

I wanted to let you know that it's not a sentence. It's difficult to watch and breaks your heart to know they're suffering.  But keep a positive attitude.  The more "normal" we made things seem the better she felt.  Laughter really helped her accept it and pull through on the difficult days. 

 

(I apologize if this comes put strangely.  I'm onm phone)

My name is Tsuneo Konishi living in Japan.
New to this.

I am a newspaper writer of NIKKEI

My wife has fighted anaplasric astrocytoma from 2002.

●Medical History

Diagnose Anaplastic astorocytoma

April 2002 Reduction of right frontal robe.
January 2004 reccurence at right frontal robe.
Reduction.

April She start to receive chemotherapy at Kyoto university hospital.,
Protocol is vincristin+ACNU+carboplatin+interferon.
September 2004 recurence at LEFT frontal robe .
She started temozolomide treatment(sttup regimen)
August 2005 Hyperthermia for left frontal robe at Nijgata university hospital.
She is stable after Hyperthermia
Autum2006 She started WT1vaccine treatment at Osaka university hospital.
Autum2007 She got brain surgery for cyst.
Diagnose is radiation necrocis
Autum2007 She got brain surgery for cyst,too.
Diagnose is no evidence of malignancy
From now She is stable

alutiiqmom said:

How are you doing today?
Hi:

My 17 year old daughter has anaplastic astrocytoma and had a tumor on left frontal lobe. She had surgery, and radiation and chemo. Now we are in the maintenance phase of the chemo, which is for a full year. This treatment is make her so sick she can hardly function.

What kind of treatment did you have and how are you doing?

Thanks for sharing.

From: A concerned Mom

Hi

I am a 25 year old female with a grade 4 glioblastoma in left frontal lobe. It was completely removed with surgery followed by proton therapy radiation and temodar. I will begin temodar next week for a year. It seems like your daughter and I have a similar story. How is she feeling?  What are her symptoms? 

Looking for a current trial was told I have gone through all options current dr. will not try any thing else so basically I sit here andwait for cancer to take over body

blakebramlett said:

How is everyone?

I've found myself here like many of you have. MRI on March 12th straight to crainiotomy on March 13, 2017 for a  total gross removal of a 7cm tumor on my right frontal lobe. Pathology came back mostly grade II at first, but the center contained grade III A.A. and turned our world upside down. I will admit I have laid in bed at night and read (and reread) all of these individual stories that I am so invested in. Unfortunately, many of these stories just begin and I don't know what has happened to those that were fortunate to post in the first place. Do you feel the desire to live life more and stay away from the forum? Has your health gotten worse and have you moved to other forums? Has your health gotten better? I would love to know everyone's updates - this whole board has had an amazing and positive effect on my thinking and planning as I begin this journey. I look forward to hearing from everyone, should you have the chance. My name is Blake, 33 year old male, from Illinois.

Hi blake! 

I spot check here every so often... I did not have an AA myself.. my mother did.  She was diagnosed at 32 and given 2 years to live.  I'm happy to report she's still kicking and cancer free (she turns 53 in September).  she's a bit more adventurous now.. she went zip lining the other year and goes on vacation every 2-3 months (not kidding...). Her grand child count is up to 7... and she's anxious for more.  There's no sign of of her AA and you'd honestly never know unless you asked.  she's still sharp (she does puzzles and brain challenges a lot) and just as happy as ever. 

Theres hope.

ashley

hello all,

   Thank you all for sharing your stories,   I have been. Encouraged by many of them.   I'd like to tell you some of my story and as a few questions.  First,  I am a 36 year old male.   In  "Good"  Health.     It all started simply enough with a couple of headaches that I would describe as severe.   This was late may. Of 2017.i saw my primar care physicia.  Who suggested excedrin migraine.  It worked well so I considered the case closed.   Several weeks later I was going out with my wife when I had many symptoms hit at once.  Tingling in fingers,   Light headed ness and difficulty.  Walking,  I slurred a few words and was clammy as well,  a trip  to the ER later. Cleared me of a stroke but a CT scan revealed a "brain mass" and a referral to a larger hospital for an MRI.   An all nighter later got me an MRI and  a cconsult with a neurosurgeon.  Who explained a biopsy was required to identity the mass.  I declined but got a referral to a well known. Dr. Mike Sughrue in OKC,Ok.  He gave me the.  Generic. Diagnosis of a "glioma". He recommended an awake craniotom.  Ehicj would remove and biopsy at the same time. I agreed and that was approx 4 weeks ago.  Since then they.  Told me it is an autoplastic Astrocytoma grade 3.    They recommend the. Traditional chemo and radiation which dose 't excite me at all.   

Does aNyone regret.  Taking the chemo and.  Radiation?    Hindsight being 20/20. Would you do the same again?

what side effects have you are fferedfrom chemo/radiation?

has anyone had good results with alternative treatments?

Jemntheholograms said:

Survival

Hi there! I specifically created an account so I could write this to you.  My mother was diagnosed at age 36...She had been acting strangely for a few days- then had a seizure at work.  We were absolutely devastated.  I was barely 16 at the time so she hid from me how long they "gave" her- a whopping 2-3 years max. She had surgery. She did both chemo and radiation.  It was tough on her - she was sick a lot and upset a bit about her hair...but She kept her attitude beyond positive.  As a family we kept her laughing hysterically every chance we got And absolutely refused to ever let her be upset about it. 

 

She turns 49 this coming September.  They cant find a trace of the cancer. She's happy. She's healthy. And you wouldn't know what she's been through unless you asked.  I'm beyond proud of her.  

I wanted to let you know that it's not a sentence. It's difficult to watch and breaks your heart to know they're suffering.  But keep a positive attitude.  The more "normal" we made things seem the better she felt.  Laughter really helped her accept it and pull through on the difficult days. 

 

(I apologize if this comes put strangely.  I'm onm phone)

What type of tumor was your mother diagnosed with?