Brain Mets Sisters

hi all.. I am really not doing very well.  I can hardly stand without wobbling.  i walk like a little old lady and simply wait for mylegs to work.  I can't get in and out of the car without my dear husband. Everyone is doing my work for me. i love it.  i need to rest rest rest.  i guess is it is the brain mets mixed with radiation.. another week or two to go.  wish i had better news.  i quit my Sunday job.. travelling down to Baldwin, even with my chaffeur was a bit too much.  i can clean the kitchen and cook, but more often than not, just wait for someone else to do it.

Oh Apple, I am so hopeful that radiation works and knocks out the brain mets.  Sending hope and love to you and your family.

Thanks you so much for checking in, Apple. I am grateful you have all that supportive help around you. Let them do it. Save your health and strength for what is most important to you. Take care of yourself.

Hi Apple, we have missed your sassy self here. Sorry to hear of your latest developments. Take care.

Hey Alesta, Thanks for checking in too.

Update on Melissa (Tillycat)



Not doing well at the mo. Finished 'conventional treatment' and recently back from clinic in Germany where she had some blood taken and given vaccine with this, alongside other treatments. Feeling very tired. Family want her to go back to clinic but she has mixed feelings as she feels so unwell and liver has been failing. (Brain mets ok) Huband and kids (25/13/11) devastated and want her to fight on. Such a difficult decision. Positive thoughts gratefully appreciated



Lx



Ps anyone heard from Barbara? (Banjobanjo) pm'd her. Hoping she's off on holiday somewhere!

Hi all, I have been over in the caregivers forum and was hoping maybe someone here could shed some light onto craniotomies.  DW had GammaKnife back in April (for 10 spots), then WBR in August (when she was supposed to have GK round 2 but they found 41 total metastases) and now with only one lesion currently left (already been GK'd) they have recommended a craniotomy.  She will be quitting her job prior to the procedure but I think her worry is that she won't wake up.  I tell her it is no riskier than any other surgery...any votes of confidence on that one?  I appreciate any who can shed light on the procedure.

Bryan

http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/8/topic/777581?page=1#idx_3

Above is thread on that. (Sorry, no insight here.)

BCBrainmets offers a lof of info: http://www.brainmetsbc.org/index.php?q=content/current-treatments-brain-metastases#BS

Hope it helps!

Hi floogendad. I understand your wife's fears. I had a craniotomy in May, and even though the surgeon had assured me that the procedure was not particularly risky, it was scary to think about and the night before my surgery I wrote a letter to my 15-yr-old daughter entitled "If I should die before I wake." Obviously, my surgery went well, and my husband did not have to deliver my letter to my daughter. Frankly I was surprised at how easy the surgery itself was. Some pain, but not intense. I was smiling and talking immediately after surgery and was delighted that I recognized my husband, friend, and pastor, and could address them by name. (Just the week before, I had driven to the ER when I was suddenly unable to read, and was unable to remember my own name. It was then that scans in the hospital revealed the cancer in my brain.) I left the hospital just 4 days after my surgery.

What surprised me was how slow recovery has been. It takes a long time for the brain to knit itself back together. Relearning how to read, write, and speak has been slow. The first few weeks I had a goofy child-like smile and laugh that was not my own. It was like you see in those with brain injuries. I am much better now, but it was a long road.

I found the links that EnglishMajor posted above to be very informative, detailed, and helpful, and I am sure that they will be helpful as you and your wife contemplate the craniotomy.

GREAT to hear from you Apple!!!!!

This Canadian blogger has been sharing her experiences: http://notjustaboutcancer.blogspot.com/2012/11/fun-facts-about-lauries-brain-surgery.html

Thanks K-lo I am here now and reading a bit.  Want to come back and read more later.

Hello other ladies sadly I am joining your group! I am newly diagnosed with very small BRAIN METS (for those who didn't see my other post) I have 4 total and they range in size 2 mm, with 2 at 3 mm and one is 6mm.  All really small.

I am currently on Navelbine (and have METS in bones, lungs, liver and now brain) I will be on Navelbine the next two weeks and will stop that while I am on Radiation (IF MEMORY SERVES).  BRAIN METS are going to be treated with SRS.  I am due to start in Jan, planning first and then will ACTUALLY start SRS in the second week. 

Susie

I'm very sorry to hear you're not doing well, apple. I've missed your posts and wondered how you were doing. I hope things get better for you soon. Hope you feel well enough to enjoy Christmas with your family.

Jan

I just saw the most recent post about Tillycat. Praying for her and hope she was able to have a nice Christmas. I've been wondering how she's been.