Any recent AA3 survivors?

Michael A
Michael A Member Posts: 3 Member
edited March 2014 in Brain Cancer #1
Hi All

I posted recently in another thread about my 50 year old darling wife.

Heather was disgosed with an anaplastic astrocytoma level 3 in her right front temporal lobe.

80% of the tumour was removed in surgery and she has just finished 6 weeks radiation coupled with Temodal chemotherapy orally.

All along we have ben told that this is beatable. Heather had an allergic reaction (six weeks later) after taking Dilantin.

This was changed a week ago to Epilim which gave her tremours, weakness and very bad general tiredness. Up to this point Heather was doing great. She works three half days per week and kept going even during radiation treatment.

Anyway, the Epilim made her that ill that we consulted back to our neuosurgeon who sent us to a neurologist, another doctor.

He set the dose on the Epilim right, but also ummed and arred over the MRI's.

He sad very casusally "have you have a prognosis" We said no, and he said "you know it's not curable"?

Well our workd really fell apart and after calling the neursurgeon back, he did come clean and say that it is not curable and we would have 1-3 years before Heather would eventually die.

Please please please someone tell me that this isn't so, that there are long term survivors out there Heathers age. Ther is not a lot of alternative treatments available in Australia so we are really in the hands of our doctors. They have been great up to this point, but now we are in a new world of hurt and need some positive news from someone on the blog.

Please?

Michael

Comments

  • stayingcalm
    stayingcalm Member Posts: 650 Member
    #2
    Lots of survivors!
    Check this thread, and look around at the subject lines - there are lots of survivors here :)
  • PBJ Austin
    PBJ Austin Member Posts: 347 Member
    #3
    Don't lose hope
    Michael, back in March my then 25-year-old sister was diagnosed with AA3. We were told up front she has 3-7 years. I know exactly the devastation you are feeling because we felt the same way. I found this board and all of the survivors and it was a godsend. Please read some of these stories and you will see there are many people out there who have survived many years past the prognosis given by the doctor. Also bear in mind that much progress is being made in cancer research and treatment and it will only get better from here. My family and I are holding on to the hope that in the next few years they will find a cure or at least a new treatment to give my beautiful young sister and other patients many more years with us. I know how hard it is after hearing such awful news, but please know you are not alone and you must keep hope alive.
  • sue Siwek
    sue Siwek Member Posts: 279
    #4
    michael, my husband is a 10
    michael, my husband is a 10 yr. survivor of aa grade 3. your wife is probably tired because of both the chemo and the radiation and it will take sometime for her to recover. the best thing for her is to get plenty of rest and eat healthfully. at this time my husband is cancer free but we know that it can come back as aa's have what i call fingers and it is hard to get them all. i hope that you are going to a hospital that is a teaching and research hospital as they have the most current treatments. this will be a struggle for both of you and will not go away anytime soon but ,people do beat the prognosis as my husband is testament to. he really had few major side effects, at least none that he couldn't adjust to. life will never be the same most likely but it can be good. so sorry anyone has to go through this, it is scary and we all become desperate at times. see your dr. about being put on an anti depressant for both you and your wife it should help.

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