Watch and Sweat(Wait) #16 - Still All Clear!

Another four-monthly MRI scan today showed no signs of recurrence. So I can relax for the rest of the year. Next checkup is in January 2017.

OLIGO SCORE CARD Event Date Tumour-free years First diagnosed after craniotomy #1 1/11/93 39 First recurrance and Craniotomy #2 1/11/06 13 MRI showing signs of progression 1-Jan-09 2.2 Second Recurrance and Craniotomy #3 29-May-09 2.2 Completed Radiation Therapy 28-Aug-09 0.2 Started Chemotherapy with Temozolomide 12-Apr-10 0.8 Completed 12 mth chemotherapy 1-Apr-11 1.8 Watch and Sweat(wait) #1 22-Aug-12 3.2 Watch and Sweat(wait) #2 24-Oct-12 3.3 Watch and Sweat(wait) #3 29-Jan-13 3.7 Watch and Sweat(wait) #4 27-May-13 3.9 Watch and Sweat(wait) #5 3-Sep-13 4.3 Watch and Sweat(wait) #6 3-Dec-13 4.5 Watch and Sweat(wait) #7 4-Mar-14 4.8 Watch and Sweat(wait) #8 3-Jun-14 5.0 Watch and Sweat(wait) #9 2-Sep-14 5.3 Watch and Sweat(wait) #10 9-Dec-14 5.5 Watch and Sweat(wait) #11 20-Apr-15 5.8 Watch and Sweat(wait) #12 20-Jul-15 6.1 Watch and Sweat(wait) #13 29-Oct-15 6.4 Watch and Sweat(wait) #14 21-Jan-16 6.6 Watch and Sweat(wait) #15 12-May-16 6.9 Watch and Sweat(wait) #16 5-Sep-16 7.3

Facial problems fade away, back to watch and sweat(wait)

The numbness on the left side of my face, reported on May 9, thankfully faded away a couple of weeks ago and no doctors or dentists could offer me an explanation as to what went wrong. I don’t really care any more, I’m just happy that I don’t have to live with it permanently.

However, I did return to the hospital today to have a followup MRI scan of the brain and consultation with my neurosurgeon, Dr. David Walker. The artefact on the image in the area of the brain stem reported in my last post is still there but there is no change in it and I have no symptoms so Dr Walker is satisfied that it is not a concern. When he has discussed it previously with the radiologist they both agreed that it is inconsistent with the type of tumour I have so he believes that we should not worry about it unless I develop any symptoms (in which case I should not hesitate to contact him immediately). We have made an appointment for another regular review in three months time.

And the MRI reveals…..NOT MUCH

Today I had an MRI scan of the brain which was originally scheduled for my regular monitoring to make sure there is no recurrence of my benign Brain tumour.

This opportunity was also being used to look for any neurological abnormalities which might explain why the left side of my face has numbed up in the last couple of weeks. (see my previous post for details)

When my neurosurgeon, Dr David Walker examined the images he found:

a) no sign of recurrence in the area of the previous surgery. Yippee - That means that I have now been tumour-free for seven years!!!

b) no sign of anything in the area of the Trigeminal nerve (the nerve responsible for sensation in the face) which might explain my mouth and face numbness.

c) There was a faint artefact on the image in an “inoperable area of the brain stem” which Dr Walker noticed but he will have to consult with the radiologist to decide if it is significant or not.

Regardless of the outcome of point c, he has scheduled a followup MRI and consultation with him in six weeks time.

Strange happenings after dental work - Is this a symptom of Tumour recurrence???

One of the problems of living with a brain tumour is the constant worry that the thing is growing again. To make sure that is not happening I have regular 3 monthly MRI scans which are reviewed by my neurosurgeon. But aside from that, occasionally something strange will happen and you can’t help jumping to the conclusion that it’s the brain tumour again. For example, see my post from August 3 2012

http://oligo-lucky.blogspot.com.au/2012/08/new-symptoms-portent-for-3rd-recurrance.html


Well following some dental work recently, some strange numbing has occurred which not only makes me nervous but the doctors are quick to point the finger at the brain tumour when they read my medical history.

A week ago the left side of my mouth became numb. It started on Thursday and felt like the injection the Dentist had given me a week before in the upper left jaw was repeating its effect on me! Very weird stuff, but that was my first thought. I was hoping it was some known (if rare) side-effect of dental anaesthetic. Either that, or it had to be something neurological like a bleed (i.e. stroke), or something associated with the old benign brain tumour. I was hoping it would go away over the long weekend but when it was still numb on Tuesday morning I got back into the dentist at short notice for them to have a look at it. They told me that they had never seen such a thing before, given that the anaesthetic had worn off as usual after the original injection and did not"repeat" on me until a week later. The Dentist told me I should go see my  GP about it. The GP thought that possibly the Dentist might have damaged a nerve with the tip of the needle, so referred me to a maxillofacial surgeon at the Wesley Hospital who specialises in that part of the body. I had that appointment and, unlike the GP, he does not think it is likely to be from  the Dentist's needle hitting a nerve. Unfortunately, he is thinking it is more likely to be something neurological, especially given my history with a benign brain tumour.

As it turns out I already have an MRI of the brain lined up for this week for my regular checkup with my neurosurgeon, so the maxillofacial doctor is writing to my neurosurgeon about this new problem and asking him to see if he can spot anything in the images. If he does, it is quite possible that I may need brain surgery again! The maxillofacial doctor wants to see me again on 23 May.