mike
Junior Member
Posts: 5
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Post by mike on Jan 12, 2012 20:45:20 GMT -6
well its been a few months and i had another MRI done and the tumor is no bigger and aim not having any problems from it either. I guess I will wait 4 more months and have another MRI done. I just hope its not cancers
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Post by millelacskay on Jan 13, 2012 14:32:02 GMT -6
I know the waiting is hard but sounds like in your case it is the better of the two evils. Most of these tumors are benign and I think if it was cancerous it would be growing. I would not recommend going through the surgery unless it is necessary - it was by far the worst one I have been through and I have had 11 other surgeries prior to this one. The nerve leg pain was unbearable around the 2nd - 4th days post surgery - I probably should have been on morphine drip but they only had me on morphine added to my IV every 4 hours and I was a blubbering mess. My tumor is growing right now so I probably will have another surgery in the not too distant future but I am going to wait as long as possible. The neurosurgeon at Mayo told me to listen to my body and I will know when it is time to discuss operating, so that is what I am doing. It gets easier to forget about it as time goes by and you don't have any major symptoms. Hang in there!!
Kay
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Post by huskysan on Jan 18, 2012 0:38:13 GMT -6
Even benign tumors grow. If I had let my benign tumor grow, it may not have been cancerous, but it still could have paralyzed me. Way to keep up on watching it. Best of luck!
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Post by emerald061 on Feb 9, 2012 13:00:48 GMT -6
Hello, I have just found this sight and have been reading some of the posts and find it very imformative, helpful and supportive. I was diagnosed with multiple schwannomas of the spine several years ago. I also have them in other parts of my body including armpit, fingertip, leg, ankle and under one of my breasts. I have sciatica and sharp needlelike pains that come about suddenly and strongly in all those areas. I had surgery to remove one of the turmours at the L-4 L-5 level in July 2009 in Sudbury, Ontario, which was awful, but the sciatica in my left buttock and leg subsided for the most part. Now I have severe sciatica pain on the other side (right buttock and right leg) due to another tumour on the other side. At times it is unbearable but the surgeon doesn't want to touch it due to risk and for the fact that it hasn't grown. I receive MRI's every six months for these schwannomas. There are also a couple on my upper spine, but to date these do not cause me too much trouble except for the fact that I cannot stand to be touched in this area as it is painful, however I do suffer headaches and migraines but do not know if it is related to that at all. I take morphine for pain but it doesn't eliminate it that is for sure. I do have a physically demanding job though, so have decided for my own good to take some time off because of it. I am frustrated and sick of the pain and wonder if I should get a second opinion just to see what another neurosurgeon has to say. The one that was removed in July of 2009, had spread with "roots" along the left side of my lower back which he could not see until he went in to do the surgery which resulted in a 7 inch incision. I also had an extra 2 weeks in the hospital due to a spinal fluid leak which he blamed on me. This is the reason I am wondering if I should get another opinion and if anyone can recommend one in Ontario. I find this surgeon somewhat arrogant and not very helpful or imformative. I am glad I found this sight though and hopefully I may be able to answer questions for someone else and i hope that I can find answers here too. Thank you and I look forward to hearing from anyone who can just talk with me or help me in any way.
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Post by moorhead on Feb 16, 2013 18:10:05 GMT -6
Hi
I have a small shwannoma at the l4l5 in the spinal cord also. Its only 1 cm and the last MRI stated no significant change. Don't want surgery however wonder if better now at 53 then later at 60.
I'm from Ontario also.
Hope all goes well for you.
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Post by millelacskay on Feb 17, 2013 7:48:59 GMT -6
Moorhead - my L5 intradural shwannoma was small too - 15mm x 15mm - and they told me the same thing about not doing anything unless it was growing. Unfortunately, mine did grow so it was removed - first surgery in 2011 (subtotal resection) and second (100% resection) last summer and I have had an excellent recovery. I was 64 when I had the first surgery and did not feel that my age was an issue. Are you having any symptoms?
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