MRI of the Brain

When my brother was first diagnosed, he was already stage IV with mets all over his body, including his brain. His doctors' main concern was that one of the brain tumors would start to bleed (a common occurence with melanoma) so they recommended whole brain radiation and my  brother agreed. Two weeks after the WBR he started Zelboarf. Melanoma is notoriously resistant to radiation. However, by the beginning of September, all of his tumors, including the brain tumors, were shrinking or gone. Whether this was due to WBR or Zelboraf or both I don't know. A month later, while still on Zelboraf, he developed one new brain tumor. That was treated with gamma knife surgery and he continued on Zelboraf. 

The whole brain radiation did result in side effects, some of which the doctors didn't tell us about because they didn't expect my brother to live long enough to experience them. The WBR made him very very tired, but that eased up after 2 or 3 weeks. Long-term, his short-term memory was impaired and his hearing was impaired– he said it felt like he had cotton in his ears all the time. His thinking slowed down and he forgot how to do many things like how to use his computer to check his email or do online banking. He sometimes got lost, even when driving on familiar routes. It was sort of like living with someone who is mildly retarded. Considering that the WBR plus Zelboarf kept him alive and without pain, I think it was a good trade. The gamma knife surgery on the one brain tumor did not seem to cause him any difficulty or worsen the side effects. That treatment was much easier on him.   

When my brother was first diagnosed, he was already stage IV with mets all over his body, including his brain. His doctors' main concern was that one of the brain tumors would start to bleed (a common occurence with melanoma) so they recommended whole brain radiation and my  brother agreed. Two weeks after the WBR he started Zelboarf. Melanoma is notoriously resistant to radiation. However, by the beginning of September, all of his tumors, including the brain tumors, were shrinking or gone. Whether this was due to WBR or Zelboraf or both I don't know. A month later, while still on Zelboraf, he developed one new brain tumor. That was treated with gamma knife surgery and he continued on Zelboraf. 

The whole brain radiation did result in side effects, some of which the doctors didn't tell us about because they didn't expect my brother to live long enough to experience them. The WBR made him very very tired, but that eased up after 2 or 3 weeks. Long-term, his short-term memory was impaired and his hearing was impaired– he said it felt like he had cotton in his ears all the time. His thinking slowed down and he forgot how to do many things like how to use his computer to check his email or do online banking. He sometimes got lost, even when driving on familiar routes. It was sort of like living with someone who is mildly retarded. Considering that the WBR plus Zelboarf kept him alive and without pain, I think it was a good trade. The gamma knife surgery on the one brain tumor did not seem to cause him any difficulty or worsen the side effects. That treatment was much easier on him.   

When my brother was first diagnosed, he was already stage IV with mets all over his body, including his brain. His doctors' main concern was that one of the brain tumors would start to bleed (a common occurence with melanoma) so they recommended whole brain radiation and my  brother agreed. Two weeks after the WBR he started Zelboarf. Melanoma is notoriously resistant to radiation. However, by the beginning of September, all of his tumors, including the brain tumors, were shrinking or gone. Whether this was due to WBR or Zelboraf or both I don't know. A month later, while still on Zelboraf, he developed one new brain tumor. That was treated with gamma knife surgery and he continued on Zelboraf. 

The whole brain radiation did result in side effects, some of which the doctors didn't tell us about because they didn't expect my brother to live long enough to experience them. The WBR made him very very tired, but that eased up after 2 or 3 weeks. Long-term, his short-term memory was impaired and his hearing was impaired– he said it felt like he had cotton in his ears all the time. His thinking slowed down and he forgot how to do many things like how to use his computer to check his email or do online banking. He sometimes got lost, even when driving on familiar routes. It was sort of like living with someone who is mildly retarded. Considering that the WBR plus Zelboarf kept him alive and without pain, I think it was a good trade. The gamma knife surgery on the one brain tumor did not seem to cause him any difficulty or worsen the side effects. That treatment was much easier on him.