Brain Tumor

[Saccopoo]

So, that shit is fun.

Started having some really cool and powerful deja-vu at work on Tuesday, then a strong ominous feeling set in and then started seeing small, flashing rainbow colored lights under the brim of my hat. Figured that it was either a premonition about an earthquake (like animals get) as Salt Lake City sits on a fault line, either that or I was hitting a major fatigue wall as I had been working long hours and had been hitting the gym pretty hard while not getting as much sleep as required in addition to cutting carbs from the diet. Anyway, I got a little freaked out, went to the bakery, grabbed a croissant and detoured it and everything kinda went back to normal.

Later on, started getting the deja-vu again (and it was super good shit - like I was seeing the future and shit - and it even had a soundtrack going along with it), and that's about all I can remember. Apparently I turned to the guy next to me, said something about tripping my balls off massively and told him I was going to puke, then my eyes rolled back into my head and I passed out and hit the floor like a sack of potatoes.

Came to with the EMT dude holding a ice pack to the back of my mellon on a huge goose egg. They were going to call an ambulance to take me to the ER and I told them it was nothing and I was fine. Fortunately the HR guy was standing there and convinced me to go to the ER. When I got there they did a CT scan to check for concussion probabilities.

Dude came back into the room with the radiologist and said "Um, bad news. There is a mass in the right side of your brain and we want to do an MRI for more detail."

"Well, shit."

So they did that and sure enough, there is a golf ball sized mass sitting there with a bunch of fluid around it. Nuerosurgeon (chief resident who looks like he's 17, comes in and says that they want to schedule surgery on Friday morning. Okies.

So, I'm sitting here in the Neurology wing of the University of Utah hospital (which is highly regarded) worrying about these guys going to the Utah/Michigan game tonight and coming back into surgery tomorrow hungover as shit.

Bonus is, I've had two really hot nurses in a row the past two nights. Tried to convince both to give me a leisure massage and body shampoo, but they didn't go for it though I had a girl from work come by last night to visit who wanted to give me a hummer.

Anyway, I'm feeling pretty fortunate that shit went down the way it did, because I most likely would have blown it off for ever until it became really bad. (Although, I am going to ask them if it's benign if they can just keep it in there because I was digging the deja-vu bordering on omnipotence.)

Also I hear that the chief neurosurgeon is totally old school and I think I saw him sharpening his hacksaw on a rusty pipe outside and telling the nurse that she should find his favorite spoon.

[Lonewolf Ed]

Originally Posted by BigMeatballDave

I may not need radiation. Radiologist wants an MRI. They want a fresh look at the tumor bed.

That is a good thing, I hope? And does the Avastin give you nosebleeds? It had mine bleeding almost constantly, but not always flowing. Blowing my nose would often lead to blood running down my chin.

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by DaNewGuy

Yo sacc how are those kryptonics wheels holding up ? I had them on a Santa Cruz cruiser when I was younger and they split apart like literally split in half A few weeks in? Get some Abec Gumballs on that mother ****er! Best of
Luck to you bud

Kryptonics recently re-issued their Star Trac line of wheels, which basically revolutionized the skateboard industry in the '70's and '80's.

They are balls out. Smooth and fast. I'm running the 82 durometer blues (as you can see in the pictures). Pretty pleased with them so far.

[BigMeatballDave]

Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed

That is a good thing, I hope? And does the Avastin give you nosebleeds? It had mine bleeding almost constantly, but not always flowing. Blowing my nose would often lead to blood running down my chin.

Nope. Today was my 4th treatment and the only thing so far is fatigue.

[Buehler445]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

Three weeks into the radiation and chemo.

Don't feel much different and had a meet with the oncologist yesterday and he said everything (blood, organs, etc.) looked fine from an operational standpoint. Said "If I didn't see your oncology report, I'd just think that you were a normal, healthy guy."

Big drawback to the chemo pills: My bowel movements have turned into goat shits/rabbit pellets/deer droppings/etc. I've had two normal shits in three weeks and that's probably being generous.

Drinking two 8 oz. glasses of prune juice everyday along with 12 oz. of apple juice in an attempt to keep the pellets coming out.

Neurosurgeon and oncologist said I could start working out again, so I went to the gym today. I don't think I'm going to go as full-bore as I was right up until the brain surgery situation, but it was nice to hit the iron again. Although, since I've been putting in 10 hour days at work for the past two weeks I do have to keep an eye on my physical fatigue situation.

I'm also developing a crush on one of my radiation technicians. I'm trying to figure out if making an attempt to bang her is breaking some sort of ehtical medical patient code or not. I'm thinking not.

Glad it's not f'ing your life up bud.

Pay attention to the fatigue. Chemo/radiation are hard on your body and not getting enough rest can put stress on organs that are already under stress and shit.

By the way, all eithical issues are on her end. Swing away.

[DenverChief]

Thought I'd drop this here too. Hope it helps

A non-invasive technique designed to send chemotherapy medication through the protective barrier surrounding the brain has been successfully trialed for the first time on a patient with brain cancer. Using an “ultrasonic screwdriver,” this technique is a huge improvement on an earlier method trialed last year, as announced by the Toronto-based researchers.

The blood-brain barrier is a lattice-like network that acts to keep harmful things like pathogens out of the brain, while allowing useful substances through. It's very good at doing its job, but unfortunately that represents a hurdle in medicine: If a person has a cancerous tumor inside the brain, getting drugs through without compromising it proves impossible. Last year, however, researchers made an incredible breakthrough, somewhat literally: The blood-brain barrier was breached for the first time using a technique that left it intact post-procedure.

Medical scientists from the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital in Paris placed special emitters that would generate a certain frequency of sound – ultrasound, beyond our hearing capabilities – inside the brains of four people with a malignant brain tumor (a glioblastoma). Miniscule bubbles, or “microbubbles,” were then injected into the patients, and allowed to bump up against the normally impenetrable blood-brain barrier.

The high-intensity focused ultrasound emitters were then activated, causing the microbubbles to expand and contract about 200,000 times per second. This forced apart the cells that make up the barrier’s lattice, allowing a chemotherapy drug to make it through the barrier and treat the tumor. The ultrasound emitters were placed as close to the tumor as possible, and the barrier is only weakened for two minutes or so over a small patch, leaving the rest of the brain protected.

Although effective, the treatment wasn’t particularly precise, and it did require an “invasive” technique: implanting ultrasound emitters into the brain. This new revised method, developed by Dr. Todd Mainprize and Dr. Kullervo Hynynen at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto, is more precise and non-invasive.

More

http://www.iflscience.com/brain/ultr...mor-first-time

[Rausch]

Originally Posted by Lonewolf Ed

That is a good thing, I hope? And does the Avastin give you nosebleeds? It had mine bleeding almost constantly, but not always flowing. Blowing my nose would often lead to blood running down my chin.

My dad has some but it's always a small amount. Similar to what you may experience with a sinus infection and not your typical nose bleed.

BTW, when diagnosed he was given 12-24 months to live.

December will be 24 months and there are still two different treatments he can try if/when what he's on is no longer effective. At this point his tumor/anomaly hasn't shown any signs of growth in 6 months...

[BigMeatballDave]

Originally Posted by DenverChief

Thought I'd drop this here too. Hope it helps



More

http://www.iflscience.com/brain/ultr...mor-first-time

this is huge, and not just for cancer.

[Saccopoo]

Week four of the radiation and chemo.

Starting to get a little more tired during the day, but I find that if I sit and close my eyes for about 15 minutes or so it goes away.

Been just a little queasy the last two days on and off, but haven't lost any appetite.

[Meatloaf]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

Week four of the radiation and chemo.

Starting to get a little more tired during the day, but I find that if I sit and close my eyes for about 15 minutes or so it goes away.

Been just a little queasy the last two days on and off, but haven't lost any appetite.

Sacc, sounds like you're tolerating the radiation and chemo pretty damned well. Well done, good sir!!!

[The Franchise]

Did you get with the radiation tech yet?

[Saccopoo]

Originally Posted by Pestilence

Did you get with the radiation tech yet?

Not yet, but we are discussing the potential of going and find some beer. She's cute.

[Bowser]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

Not yet, but we are discussing where to go and find some Montana beer this weekend.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

Not yet, but we are discussing where to go and find some Montana beer this weekend.

[Saccopoo]

[Lonewolf Ed]

Originally Posted by Saccopoo

Not yet, but we are discussing where to go and find some Montana beer this weekend. She's cute.

Where in Montana? Bozeman had a brewery the last time I was in town in 2004. Moose Drool brown is a good choice, too!