Met with Dr Aiken, still waiting on biopsy results to decide treatment.

Holly, my sister Jean and I saw the oncologist, Dr. Aiken, and the neurosurgeon Dr. Munoz today. We first met with Dr. Aiken. I like him. He gave me a neurological exam and asked about the history of the symptoms I have.  He admitted that he had not had a chance to talk to Dr Munoz about my case, and all the biopsy results were not in yet, but he could talk in general about the course of action in cases like mine. Outside of surgery, there is the following options:

1. Wait and see when, how quickly my symptoms get worse.
   There is no history on this, so we do not know how fast the tumor is progressing. The 'Grade 2' is an indication that is it slow, but exactly what that means differs from person to person.  There is a possibility I could go years before my symptoms get severe enough to warrant the risks of the other options.
2. Radio surgery (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiosurgery)
   This seemed to be the doctors preferred direction, but he was careful to point out more consideration needs to be taken.
   
3. Chemotherapy (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chemotherapy)
   The advanced biopsy results are needed to determine if  Chemotherapy is an option. They look for molecular or genetic markers in the biopsy that are know to react positively to Chemotherapy. These tests were ordered with the biopsy, and they expect the results in 2-3 weeks (Week of Dec 13th)

Robin at Dr. Munoz office took the staples (stitches) out. The removal of the staples was very quick and painless. Dr. Munoz then came in and basically gave us a pep talk. He said that he has experienced this with thousands of patients over the years. He warned us about the five stages of grief (which, btw, I'm still kinda in the denial state), and assured us that with a positive attitude I will end up in the acceptance state.

Dr. Munoz assured me that I will not turn into a vegetable or loose mobility or speech. My overall excellent health going into this combined with the advances in neuroscience, and the location of the tumor all make these types of collateral damage rare for cases like mine. I did ask what ill effects are in the realm of possibility, and he could only reply that every case is different. This will be a journey in which I will have to face challenges around this for the rest of my life.

Dr. Munoz then talked a little about what he saw during the surgery. To the eye, one cannot see the boundaries of the tumor. The tumor-affected area 'looks' like normal brain tissue. The tumor has transformed some healthy brain tissue, it did not grow beside the healthy tissue. Because of this, the tumor is not something that can can be safely removed with surgery. Additional surgery is off the table at this point. I am kinda disappointed about this. Surgery is a distinct event, with a clear before and after. The other options listed above are processes that take a long time to develop. I would rather get this over with even if I had to endure another surgery, but it does not look like that is the path we will take.

With that, Dr Munoz will step aside and let Dr Aiken take the lead on my case. It is really nice how there is a pool of experts at Rush University and how they are working together on my case. I feel I am getting the best treatment available in the world. 

So, now we have to wait for the biopsy results, let the doctors recommend the best course of action, and go from there. Thank you to everyone for their words of encouragement and prayers. A special thank you to Holly for taking care and comforting me during this difficult time.