is it possible to live another 20 years?

[D168]

Hi I'm a 31yr old male who had most of my benign tumor removed from my brain stem. This was 2 years ago. They said it was highly vascular uncommon and weird. I don't feel 100% better probably 90% and I'm wondering if people can go on and live a full life after this.

I read an article that said without gross total resection of tumor than most people average another 7.5 years of life. If thats true then I only have 5 years left to live. I'm trying to have faith in having a future but its tough.

[D168]

Thanks for your comment previously,

I am being checked with brain MRI's with gadlonium injections every six months.
I just had an MRI and I'm having a tough time waiting for the results for a week and a half till my next appointment. Hopefully I'll get great news that the piece is gone. Its not easy going through this stuff. Your comment was interesting and the best part was that you made it this far and you are doing well.You seem to know about tumors and stuff like that.

Take care

[D168]

Thanks for your comment previously,

I am being checked with brain MRI's with gadlonium injections every six months.
I just had an MRI and I'm having a tough time waiting for the results for a week and a half till my next appointment. Hopefully I'll get great news that the piece is gone. Its not easy going through this stuff.

Take care

[ggreg]

Dear D,
I'm sorry you had such a traumatic event in your young life, but at least it was benign and they got most of it out.  That you feel only 90 percent well is pretty normal with brain operations in general, from what I understand.  There is a book out by a physician who had brain surgery, and after the operation, she was surprised that she had lost some of her abilities, but after a while, she adjusted to her "new" self.

As for how long you live and that article you read, every person is different.  Unless there is a study somewhere that specifically discusses prognosis for vascular benign tumor removal in your part of the brain, I don't think you need to carry around that 7.5 year figure, unless you want to.

All in the world that's going to happen to you is, they'll be doing regular checkups on you, and one day they might see the thing has gotten big again, and they'll take it out again.  The reason they have to get it out is to prevent it from pushing up against the brain, which can cause damage to the tissues.  And you can ask your physician if he has any idea how fast-growing your type of tumor can be, even survival rates if you dare.  

By the way, there was a program on TV about two or three years ago, where they operated on a tumor just exactly like yours, and they commented on how awful it was, all these blood vessels all over it, terrible thing to see on TV, and because of possibility of blood loss, it made for real hard surgery.  But they got most of it out, and just like you they couldn't get it all out, they decided to leave some because they were concerned with more bleeding, but at least they relieved all that pressure in the patient's head.

All of us are going around with various growths in our bodies.  Most of them are benign, and depending on the location, the doctors sometimes just leave them in the body as long as it's not disrupting normal function.  I have a friend who has a benign one of some kind in his head, and they aren't gonna fool with it at the moment, if ever, because he has other more important health problems.  They really don't want to operate unless it gets too big and starts to bother him neurologically.

So, the point of all this ramble is to perhaps let you accept and sort of forget about your tumor situation, understand it is fairly common to get a growth, and that since it is benign, it is okay to just let it grow along, until it gets too big again, if it does.  

You can also go with your five-year supposition and handle your life that way.  One time I thought I was going to die, so I got my affairs in order, made every effort to do positive things about my millions of mistakes, wrote out a list of stuff I wanted to accomplish before I gave out.  It was actually a relief to go through that process.  Obviously I survived, but it wound up being a very good thing to do in general, it helped put my priorities in order, forever changed my perspective on things, and directed my future more towards all that fun stuff I had listed.

[Abhijeet Deshmukh, MD]

Hello.

I understand that your tumor is removed almost completely. So, the article that your read does not apply to you.

More importantly, the body reacts to what our mind thinks constantly. If you feed positive thoughts, positive things will happen. Please do not apply the article to your case.

Do keep a watch on your symptoms and adhere to the treatment regimen given to you. You will have a long life.

All the best.

[Suri123]

Hi, How are you. What is the progress after the surgery. You should keep your attending physician about the progress you see and do regular follow ups. No one is certain about life.
Take care, Bye.