Has anyone heard from Sharyn ??

Hi friends and family,

A lot has been happening over the past week or so, and I wanted to bring you all up to speed. When most of you last heard from me, I was on my way to Montreal for stereotactic radiation surgery.  That did happen, but not as I expected. On Feb 2, I went for a 1 day trip to Montreal for a routine brain MRI, went home, and I was to return to Montreal again for the SRS procedure on Monday. However, the next day (Feb 3), I got a call from Dr Roberge in Montreal, saying one of the 2 brain tumors had grown exponentially over the past 2 months, was bleeding internally within the tumor, and was now too big to treat with SRS. We still went ahead with the SRS on the smaller tumor on Monday (Feb 7), and on Tues a second treatment on a tumor treated previously in May, but now we have a new game plan for the remaining big tumor.

My radiation oncologist, Dr Norman (St John’s), worked a virtual miracle in arranging a craniotomy for February 21, and best of all, it can be done here in St John’s. I saw neurosurgeon, Dr Avery, on Wed, pre-op will be tomorrow, then surgery Mon 8:00am. So by the time you west-coasters are crawling out of the hay, I'll be resting comfortably in intermediary ICU, with that nasty tumour GONE! I'll be in hospotal for about 5 – 7 days. (But knowing me, I'll be out before then!)

For those of you who don't know, (and me being a die-hard teacher), here’s how a craniotomy is done: The scalp tissue is folded back to expose the bone. Using a high-speed drill, the surgeon drills a pattern of holes through the cranium (skull) and uses a fine wire saw to connect the holes until a segment of bone (bone flap) can be removed. This gives the surgeon access to the inside of the skull and allows him to proceed with surgery inside the brain. After removal of the internal brain lesion is completed, the bone is replaced and secured into position with soft wire. Membranes, muscle, and skin are sutured into position. It all sounds horrible, but I’ve been assured by others who have gone through it, that it’s quite an easy procedure, and recovery is rapid. 

 
The tumour is on my lower left occipital lobe, (in the back), which controls vision, so half of my peripheral vision on the right side is gone. (Brain symptoms affect opposite sides.) My driver’s license has been suspended, so I'm grounded, and have to relying on the kindness of others to get me around.  It should correct itself after the surgery, so at least it's not permanent, and I'll eventually get my wheels back. In the meantime, I am extremely slow to read, unable to think of many words, and slow to type. Just this update has taken me almost 2 hours to type – slow, labourous hen-pecking — not my normal pace at all!!! Worst of all I tried playing the piano tonight and was horrified to find I couldn’t remember how to play. That skill better come back!!!

I don't know what's happening with ipi. I was on a 12 week break since Dec, and now I'm due for my 24 wk CT scan on Mar 1. But I don't think I'll be recovered enough by then to go back to Montreal. I’ve askes them if I could do the CT scan here in St John’s and fax the results, but no word back yet from Bristol-Myers-Sqyubb.  Also, I don't if they'll allow resuming the ipi infusions later than scheduled. I just hope I don't get disqualified from the trial. Aside from the brain mets, I was doing so well otherwise.

I'll be in touch as things unfold
Hugs
Sharyn

Hi friends and family,

A lot has been happening over the past week or so, and I wanted to bring you all up to speed. When most of you last heard from me, I was on my way to Montreal for stereotactic radiation surgery.  That did happen, but not as I expected. On Feb 2, I went for a 1 day trip to Montreal for a routine brain MRI, went home, and I was to return to Montreal again for the SRS procedure on Monday. However, the next day (Feb 3), I got a call from Dr Roberge in Montreal, saying one of the 2 brain tumors had grown exponentially over the past 2 months, was bleeding internally within the tumor, and was now too big to treat with SRS. We still went ahead with the SRS on the smaller tumor on Monday (Feb 7), and on Tues a second treatment on a tumor treated previously in May, but now we have a new game plan for the remaining big tumor.

My radiation oncologist, Dr Norman (St John’s), worked a virtual miracle in arranging a craniotomy for February 21, and best of all, it can be done here in St John’s. I saw neurosurgeon, Dr Avery, on Wed, pre-op will be tomorrow, then surgery Mon 8:00am. So by the time you west-coasters are crawling out of the hay, I'll be resting comfortably in intermediary ICU, with that nasty tumour GONE! I'll be in hospotal for about 5 – 7 days. (But knowing me, I'll be out before then!)

For those of you who don't know, (and me being a die-hard teacher), here’s how a craniotomy is done: The scalp tissue is folded back to expose the bone. Using a high-speed drill, the surgeon drills a pattern of holes through the cranium (skull) and uses a fine wire saw to connect the holes until a segment of bone (bone flap) can be removed. This gives the surgeon access to the inside of the skull and allows him to proceed with surgery inside the brain. After removal of the internal brain lesion is completed, the bone is replaced and secured into position with soft wire. Membranes, muscle, and skin are sutured into position. It all sounds horrible, but I’ve been assured by others who have gone through it, that it’s quite an easy procedure, and recovery is rapid. 

 
The tumour is on my lower left occipital lobe, (in the back), which controls vision, so half of my peripheral vision on the right side is gone. (Brain symptoms affect opposite sides.) My driver’s license has been suspended, so I'm grounded, and have to relying on the kindness of others to get me around.  It should correct itself after the surgery, so at least it's not permanent, and I'll eventually get my wheels back. In the meantime, I am extremely slow to read, unable to think of many words, and slow to type. Just this update has taken me almost 2 hours to type – slow, labourous hen-pecking — not my normal pace at all!!! Worst of all I tried playing the piano tonight and was horrified to find I couldn’t remember how to play. That skill better come back!!!

I don't know what's happening with ipi. I was on a 12 week break since Dec, and now I'm due for my 24 wk CT scan on Mar 1. But I don't think I'll be recovered enough by then to go back to Montreal. I’ve askes them if I could do the CT scan here in St John’s and fax the results, but no word back yet from Bristol-Myers-Sqyubb.  Also, I don't if they'll allow resuming the ipi infusions later than scheduled. I just hope I don't get disqualified from the trial. Aside from the brain mets, I was doing so well otherwise.

I'll be in touch as things unfold
Hugs
Sharyn