new to board not to cancer

[logancounty]

Hello everyone,
I am a 4 year survivor and was diagnosed last week with a 3.5 cm lesion in the back part of my brain. I have started whole brain radiation to be followed by radiosurgery. My onc and radiologist wanted to get this treatment started in hopes of shrinking the tumor enough to be considered for the radiosurgery. I am not a good candidate for other surgical proceedures since it is lying too close to the brain stem. I didnt have any real symptoms except some dizziness that was thought to be caused by sinuses. My onc ran a brain MRI and found the spot. I feel fine but and sooo scared . I had stage 3c breast cancer at original diagnosis and had 6 months of chemo. 7 1/
2 weeks of rads. Followed by a year of herceptin. Had just made my 4 year mark in April and now this. The one large lesion is the only place it was found. I am just looking for someone who has had these treatments and can help me understand what will come next. I am a single mother who cant work anymore and am lost and scared. Thanks for any advice.

[Shell]

You have come to the right place, and I am sorry to hear about your reoccurrence. I don't have info to help you, but want to let you know that others will, and we're here to support you in any way we can...

Regards,
Shell

[Christine]

I had both procedures. There are little side effects from Gamma Knife. WBR on the other had is a different story.

Side effects include fatigue and cognitive failure. Has your oncologist investigated Cyberknife?

Gamma Knife is limited to tumors < 3.cm, but Cyber Knife is capable of treating larger ones over several sessions. He may also want to investigate IMRT which is also capable of treating larger tumors.

If you wish to discuss your options, email me your phone number.

Hugs
Christine

[Joy]

you are in the right place and that Christine is a great and encouraging resource for you. There are a number of others (do an advanced search on this site for pattyz's posts) and I know they will post soon. I feel blessed that I have not had mets to the brain and , therefore, don't have a lot of practical knowledge to give you. But I want you to know that we welcome you and care for you and understand being sooo scared. I, too, am a single mama of 2 grade school girls so there are elements to your struggle that I understand.

Stay connected and I'll be thinking of you.