I'm a bit stressed.

[Andit]

Woohoo! The brats & I can do a happy dance now! Get lots of rest, so we can exchange, ahem, differing opinions on those threads.

[MortgageQueen]

Tara- SOOOoooo happy to hear the good news. . .not that I'm not concerned about the swelling. Do they know what's causing it?? I'm so glad it's not the cancer. Hope your headache eases and you rest a bit better kiddo.

[avoncallingu]

Oh Tara! I'm so happy for you! Good luck finding an answer for reducing the brain swelling and inflamation. Wishing you a painless wait for your oncologist's answer! Smiles and hugs your way!

[Natalka]

I didn't post earlier today as my headaches have been bad and I crashed when I got home from the Drs this afternoon.

I saw my family Dr today and the MRI report says: Stable appearance with no evidence of disease progression. This means the cancer is staying at bay for the moment! We also found out why I'm having terrible headaches and vertigo. It appears that my brain has severe inflammation and swelling at the moment and I might need to go back on steroids to bring that under control. These are the same steroids I was on post surgery that gave me hallucinations of flashing transformers. lol I am however holding off any meds until I meet with my Oncologist on Thursday. All in all it was a good day because the dreaded "C" isn't back and at least knowing something is happening in my head I can pursue some options for pain management. I do prefer to wait to speak to my Oncologist though before starting anything because he might have a different steroid for me or some other drug of choice to bring the inflammation down.

Thank you all for your support! Seriously breathing a big sigh of relief right now.

So very glad Horatio is still banished!

Sorry, though, that you are still having the other issues - I just pray they are resolved quickly for you!

[hollyquaiscer]

I hope you got a really good sleep last night hon You need to rebuild your strength. Just to let you know.......I'm still doing a happy dance too...

[TaraF]

Thank you everyone! I'm obviously over the moon that the cancer isn't back but dreading the medication. I was speaking to my husband and I not only had hallucinations while on it but also extremely paranoid. It was so bad it was to the point I would not be alone at anytime.

princessjen, I'm not sure about how long I will have it but I think when I meet with my Oncologist on Thursday I'll get some more indepth information on that as my family dr had a simple report from the MRI.

Andit, lol I will enjoy our discussions here, all of them

MortgageQueen, I really won't know full details until Thursday but even though I'm not a Dr and don't even play one on TV, I suspect it might have something to do with the recurring severe sinus infections I've been battling since December. It would make sense at least.

Hollyquasiscer, about lastnight. LOL I...um...attended my cousins stag & doe and haven't had a drink since right before my surgery so it's been a good 19 months now and I wanted to not only celebrate my good news BUT have a drink or two before I'm put on the steroid to which I know I can't drink while taking. I only had 4.5 Vex Hard Lemonades lastnight..... but I ended up praying to the Porceline God and laying face down in the grass with a concerned bunch of people around me. lol Goodtimes. I'd say Tara's back

[Lynn49]

Oh, Tara!!! What a price to pay for a wee tipple! Poor you.....I hope that this time your medication has a less severe affect on you....Always in my prayers...Lynn

[VeeVee]

Excellent news Tara about the "c"! Hope your headaches gets better soon!

[TaraF]

lol oh Lynn I will NEVER have another alcoholic beverage ever again. And thanks VeeVee, just waiting to see what my Oncologist says Thursday about treatment and whether anything was on the final report that my Family Dr didn't receive. My Family Dr gets a basic report and I don't know whether my Oncologist also did my Sinus cavities as we were talking about that too considering I've been battling almost constant sinus infections since December. Yeah, I'll itch until Thursday when I hear the words from his mouth that all is well.

[Andit]

How are you feeling today, Tara? Still thinking of you - fingers & paws crossed here that tomorrow's appt goes well.

[TaraF]

My head feels like it's in a large vice, but thanks for asking. I won't totally celebrate or take that big sigh of relief until I speak to my Oncology Team tomorrow because they are the ones that deal with this disease day in and day out, so when they say "you're good", that's when I'll breathe a bit easier. Having said that, I want some drugs to make this pressure in my head go away. But ones that don't give me weird hallucinations and paranoia because I'm already freaked out knowing how I reacted with the Dex and thinking now I'll be home alone all day with a balcony a mere few feet from me. See, paranoid about being paranoid! Mix a drug into the mix and it might not be pretty lol

How are you feeling today, Tara? Still thinking of you - fingers & paws crossed here that tomorrow's appt goes well.

[Lynn49]

Thinking of you today, Tara, and hoping for a clean bill of health from your oncology team today!
HUGS, Sweetie.....!!!

[hollyquaiscer]

Tara, been thinking of you all day, hope the news from the oncologist is what you wanted to hear. My fingers and toes are crossed for you today.

[Lynn49]

............waiting impatiently...and praying there's good news and you're out celebrating.....

[TaraF]

Oh ladies you're just great ((Hugs)) First things first and most importantly, there has been no regrowth and both Brain and Sinus MRI were clear! But my uber hot Oncologist (hey it never hurts when your Dr's gorgeous!) took the time to explain things in great detail with me that I've only got the clinical terms and explanations of before. So it breaks down like this: I still have tumour left in my brain because the surgeon couldn't get it all without compromising function, BUT the tumour that remains is currently dormant!

He said he can't give me any percentages and/or probabilities of regrowth because with the type of brain tumour I have, Oligoastrocytoma, and the Grade (2) it's unpredictable and could regrow tomorrow, 10 years from now or never. BUT it's why I have a Radiology team to discuss probabilities because that would be the first thing we'd do. As for the swelling and inflammation he said that while I do have some it's remaining stable because I've had it since my surgery. No fancy steroids for me but rather just an OTC Anti Inflammatory like Advil, gonna need to start trading coupons for some!

He said the pressure headaches unfortunately are the "new normal" for me due to where the tumour was extracted from (right beside the sinus cavity) which also explains why the BPV I was diagnosed with hit me harder than it would someone without a hole in their brain. lol All in all it was a great and informative visit and my next MRI won't be until Dec!

Thank you ALL for your support, truly means the world to me.