my mom has a large brain tumor, surgery is tomorrow

LisainCalifornia · New User Joined: 04 Jun 2009 Posts: 7

Hello all,
I am Lisa and my mom who is 73 was diagnosed with a brain tumor just a few days ago. I have been with her in the hospital since, and she will have surgery tomorrow.

The doctor said the tumor is very large, and over the right frontal lobe.

All of this started on Friday when I was speaking to her on the phone and she said that she was happy that my husband and kids could visit her that morning. The had not--they were no where near her area. I started to get worried and called my dad, and he said she does this sometimes. She will think she hears my kids in the hallway or see another relative in her bed that is not actually there.

I convinced him to take her to urgent care, and they did a MRI, CAT scan and full body scan. She has only one tumor, but it is very big.

The thing I am really worried about is that now she is SO different. She doesn't know how many kids she has (2) or what year it is or the name of my husband who she knows so well. She couldn't tell the doctor the month, year, or do several simple things like stick her tongue out. She knew these things just a few weeks ago.

The doctor said there are two types of tumors:
1. compressers who compress on the brain that when removed the brain will go back to normal.
or
2. destroyers who destroy as they grow, wiping out ability to do ordinary things like walk, talk, etc.

He says my mom has a destroyer type.

Does this really mean she will not go back to her old self after surgery?

I am just so filled with sadness for her right now. She didn't even get it when the doctor told her she was having surgery--she thought he asked if she liked her lunch. I don't think she has the mental capacity to understand. Before this she has always had a great sense of humor and loved to talk and was animated and involved in my life and my kids lives. Will she ever recover that?

Thanks for any help you can provide.
Lisa

artaran

It is important to find out exactly what kind of tumor it is. There are many different kinds. Where in California are you? Be sure if your mother has a glioma that she see a neuro-oncologist, they have the most experience dealing with and treating Gliomas. You may want to consider taking her to a major brain tumor treatment center, if you can.

I wish you and your Mom the best of luck,

Arleen
_________________
Arleen Tarantino

http://www.willpowerresearchfund.com

LisainCalifornia · New User Joined: 04 Jun 2009 Posts: 7

Thank you for your answer. I just got home from her surgery. The doctor said it looks like a Grade 4 (possibly 3) astrocytoma. We will have the pathology next week. He got as much of the tumor as possible, but said it was very large. He said chemo and radiation will be started in 6 weeks or so.

I just did some reading, and realize this is not good news. I am so sad for my mom.

She has Kaiser insurance and had her surgery at Kaiser hospital in Sacramento. We just found out on Tuesday about the tumor, so we are all still in shock.

Thanks for your response.
Lisa

tawny111 · Regular Joined: 04 Jun 2009 Posts: 37 Location: usa

lisa:

did they tell you the size of the tumor, until i talked to the chief neurologist, they told me my father's is huge also, yet i do not know if 2 x 2 inches is huge? i imagined a mass all over his left side of the brain!
gosh, i know how you feel, i'm terrified and depressed. please follow up on this with us, we do not know what of the 2 tumors he has either until they do this high end mri today.
it's kinda like walking thru a nightmare, isn't it/
the very best to you, your mum and your dad
tawny xoxo

LisainCalifornia · New User Joined: 04 Jun 2009 Posts: 7

Hi Tawny,
Thank you so much for your kind reply. The size of the tumor was 7 cm. It spanned a little more than half of the right frontal lobe.

She is in ICU right now, and not doing very well. She has a fever and is very disoriented.

You are right about this being a nightmare. I have been so racked with greif all week and cannot think of much else.

I am sorry about your dad as well.
Take care,
Lisa

tawny111 · Regular Joined: 04 Jun 2009 Posts: 37 Location: usa

hi lisa:
how is your mum doing post op? is she aware and speaking today???
is she in pain or sleeping alot? this is terrible, i know.
today is my dad's surgery and he has a large glio left temporal side of brain. well, there is one thing we can do, be there, try and lighten things up for them and pray
well, hang in there, k?
it's just all too much, i swear.
love
tawny

brainman

Hi Lisa, I am very sorry about your mother's cancer. In the beginning, all the information can get overwhelming but it is very important that you get all the information you can. On top of all the information, it is totally understandable for you and your mother be overwhelmed by your feelings.

Indeed, all gliomas do invade and destroy otherwise healthy brain tissue. However, it is not that simple. The cancer can cause the brain to swell. This can also be a problem following surgery or radiation therapy. I am sure the will give your mother hormones to counteract this swelling.

I am very glad you found this forum and I hope we can continue to help you learn about your mother's cancer and to offer you support as you go through this nightmare.

You and your mother are in my thoughts and prayers.
_________________
Jim
Administrator and long-term cancer survivor
1992 Astrocytoma grade 2, left motor strip
2005 Recurrence this time said to be an Oligodendroglioma grade 3, same location.
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LisainCalifornia · New User Joined: 04 Jun 2009 Posts: 7

thank you Jim and Tawny. I have been driving to see her each day and spend most of the day there. I am in the Bay Area and she is in Sacramento, so it takes me a few hours there and back, and just being with her in the hospital is very tiring. She is very confused and says very odd things--like she forgets she is in the hospital and thinks she is in a hotel. She keeps telling me to pay the nurses for her food, and says the woman in the next bed wears a red kimono at night and sings songs in German. She also thinks she has a dog and cat in the hospital, and that the nurses are hiding them.

It is hard to see her so confused and sick, you know?

Lisa

tawny111 · Regular Joined: 04 Jun 2009 Posts: 37 Location: usa

hey lisa.....wow, what a long drive for you and then, yes, hospitals themsleves make me exhausted, parking, walking to the room, sitting, minutes seems like hours. oh my, you are quite a trooper. i can understand the hallucination part of your mom's behavior, i believe she may still have swelling, and with all of the other things, causes this type of symtom. does she know you when you walk in the room? funny how they know somethings exact, and then go off on the "out there" talking.
my dad is the nicest guy in the world, at this moment he is like a screaming maniac, calling everyone names, cussing, combative..he's not on morphine either....they told me it's the swelling....i d,on't know. also was told it could last for a couple of weeks before he becomes himself again. sometimes, i truly think they can't say anything solid because brain surgery affects everyone different.
soooo glad to hear from you
hugs
tawny

tawny111 · Regular Joined: 04 Jun 2009 Posts: 37 Location: usa

oops, i found out he was on morphine after surgery.....that tells me a lot.
darn doc's try to hide things that are essential for me to know....i found out when he was placed back in the snf (skilled nursing facilty) from the RN! i just cannot believe how misinformed i was....being that i could not travel to the neuro center he was in, now, i'm 7 minutes away, geez..do they wanna do me in too? he actually thinks he is back in WWII and is being tortured and this is why he has this paranoia...darn, .i'd have known, and should have figured this out myself, of course they'd put him on something post op....yet when i called they told me he was on nothing!
it seems to me ya gotta be there at all times
love
tawny

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