Meningioma

Question: meningioma? i have tumor that called meningioma could u pleas tell me what should i do

Answer: go see an oncologist

Question: What are the chances of a successful surgery on a meningioma brain tumor? My mom was diagnosed with a Meningioma brain tumor months ago. The doctors decided to wait a while and see what her symptoms were and if the tumor was growing. Eventually, she started getting bad headaches and her vision worsened. Shes now at the point that shes been laid off of work due to her unstability when walking. It's a really scary situation to deal with, she lives 9 hours from me with my brother and sister. Shes already put my name on everything she owns, including my siblings. I'm only 22 and am a broke college student who cant even afford my own rent. If anybody knows, can you please tell me of similar conditions and their outcomes? I've looked up some info but havent really gotten an everyday explanation that i can understand fully. Thank you.

Answer: I am SO sorry you are going through this. I had a brain tumor removed in March of 2004. I was having really bad headaches, wild mood swings, and neck pain for about a year. I kept going to my doctor to try to get some relief. But all he would do is give me Motrin, and ignore me (stupid military docs). Motrin didnt help at all. The headaches got SO bad, that I was forcing myself to not go to sleep at night because I would always wake up with headaches that left me screaming in pain (literally). It was unbearable. So finally I went back to the doc, and told him that he either gave me a CAT scan, or I was reporting him for neglagence. Well, THAT got the ball rolling. He gave me a CAT scan, and an MRI, and thats how they discovered I had a brain tumor. I had what was called a Nerve Sheath Tumor. Its not cancer, and they dont know how (or why) it got there. Its one of those tumors that has no rules, and grows for no reason. They said that I could have had it for a few years, and it was just starting to hurt because it was getting pretty big. It was located right where my brain stem met my brain. I had surgery at Walter Reed on March 30, 2003. It took 12 doctors 14 hours to remove it. I also had to spend a month in the hospital recovering. They literally had to saw my head open, and left a 5 inch long scar on my scalp. The side of my head is held together with Titanium (the original piece of skull is still there, but the Titanium holds it together. And I can no longer feel the left side of my face, including my eye, tongue, and lips. But I would do it all over again, just to get rid of those headaches. I now enjoy a normal life, with minimal discomfort. I have to be careful to not lift anything heavy, and I can no longer play contact sports. But besides that, I am OK. Even the loss of feeling doesnt bother me anymore. Its actually a good thing when I go to the Dentist. Hehe!! Like I said, I would do it all over again to not have those headaches any more. From the description you are giving, it sounds like your doctors are doing the right thing. You dont want to operate on someone unless you HAVE to. The most important thing you can do right now is be there for your mom (sounds like you are already), and be strong for her. No one can know for sure what the outcome will be. And believe me, I know thats the WORST part of the whole thing. If it does turn out that your mom needs surgery, then look at it this way: Its a chance for her to get better. It is not likely that something will go wrong with the surgery, or that it wont help her. Once that kind of tumor is gone, its gone forever. Then maybe she will have a chance at a normal life again. PLEASE dont hesitate to email me with more questions. I'm almost the same age as you, and I understand what you are going through.

Question: Can a CT scan tell if a meningioma is benign? I recently had a CT scan (headaches) and my neurologist said I have 2 small benign meningiomas in my right frontal lobe. How can he look just at the scan and tell they are benign without running any kind of tests? Is that possible?

Answer: I was diagnosed with a golf ball sized tuberculum sellae meningioma 3 years ago and had surgery 2 weeks after diagnosis. All of my tumor was removed and I have had no regrowth. The only way to know for sure the grade (benign or malignant) of any tumor, or to even identify the type of tumor definitely is by running pathology tests on the tumor tissue, which can only be done after surgical removal of all or part of the tumor. A CT scan or MRI can give a "probable" diagnosis. My CT scan was read by one radiologist who diagnosed my "lesion" as an aneurysm. I had the same CT scan read by another radiologist who said it was a "probable meningioma". I then had an MRI done and had a more precise diagnosis of a meningioma, but still it was not definite until after surgery. Approximately 80% of meningiomas are classified as benign, 10-20% are atypical (benign but showing aggressive growth), only 1-2% of meningiomas are malignant. Since most of them are benign, that is not to say they don't cause health issues. My meningioma was attached to my optic nerves and was wrapped around the internal carotid artery. If it had not been discovered and surgically removed, I would have gone blind and it would have slowly cut off the blood supply to my brain. The first answerer made a valid point about hormones. Hormonal fluctuations can cause meningiomas to grow, but only IF the tumor has hormone receptors. Again that is only determined by pathology testing. My tumor did not have hormone receptors and would have continued to grow, regardless of my age. His comment that meningiomas shrink after menopause is a joke I hope. I have been in contact with about 150 other meningioma survivors and 3 people who have died from the affects of meningiomas in the last three years. I have never heard of a meningioma shrinking, except through some form of radiation treatment. I would suggest that you consult with a neurosurgeon to get another opinion whether you need surgery or not. The best chance of having complete surgical removal is to have it when the tumor is smaller and not causing neurological problems. Frontal lobe tumors are known to cause seizures and other symptoms. http://www.abta.org/siteFiles/SitePages/… This is a link to American Brain Tumor Assoc. literature on meningiomas. http://www.meningiomamommas.com/ This is a link to a wonderful online support group for people affected by meningiomas. Good luck. Please email me if you have any questions for me.

Question: How would you treat a 2.5 cm meningioma at the clivus? How amenable is it to embolization at this location? What method of embolization would you use? What are the particlular problems associated with this tumor location? CT, non-contrast, was done for head trauma in a 23 y.o. man and this was found incidentaly.

Answer: Removing meningiomas at the clivus is one of the hardest problems in neurosurgery. Medical care for these types of tumours is not very succesful and many types of tumours within the brain can quite easily be removed. Unfortunatly due to the position of the clivus it is very hard to remove this type of tumour. These tumors represent some of the greatest challenges in neurosurgery; although partial resection is relatively straightforward, complete resection remains a daunting task. Partial resection usually does not translate into any benefit for the patient and only renders further surgeries more difficult; therefore, every attempt should be made to complete the resection. If surgery has to be interrupted for logistical reasons, the second operation should be scheduled the earliest possible opportunity. A multitude of approaches has been devised for these tumors. The traditional approaches such as the suboccipital or the subtemporal are usually insufficient to allow complete removal. More extensive approaches, such as the petrosal approach, are needed. This approach consists of combined supratentorial and infratentorial craniotomies, associated with a simple mastoidectomy down to the solid angle (ie, the bone encasing the inner ear). After the tentorium is split, the petroclival meningioma can be visualized in its entirety. Drug therapy is given in the form of Dexamethasone to reduce the chance of complications. After 1-3 months (possibly more) time of bedrest, the patient can usually get back to a normal life. Most patients who have their meningiomas removed entirely have excellent prognosis. But given the difficult location of the tumour, it may not be fully removed and this has a chance of returning. All patients who have undergone surgery for the removal of such tumours should have recurrent MRIs to check to see if the tumour has returned.

Question: How can having a meningioma tumor that is benign hurt you?

Answer: The tumor can continue to grow and put more pressure on the brain and cause local injury. They can affect any process control by the brain, sight, breathing, coordination, speech, etc. They eventually can be fatal in some cases. "Depending on whether or not they can spread by invasion and metastasis, tumors are classified as being either benign or malignant. Benign tumors are tumors that cannot spread by invasion or metastasis; hence, they only grow locally. Malignant tumors are tumors that are capable of spreading by invasion and metastasis. By definition, the term "cancer" applies only to malignant tumors"

Question: Is depression common after surgery to remove a malignant meningioma located in my left frontal lobe?

Answer: yes it would be. Post depression is common with any surgery with a CA like that you should be on anti depressants anyway.

Question: what behavioral problems does meningioma cause? Does meningioma cause any emotional or behavioral problems? Can it cause paranoia?

Answer: I think that would depend on what area of the brain it is in, and how big it is. Sometimes it might cause functional problems, like deafness or ataxia or aphasia, but sometimes it will cause personality changes instead...or both.

Question: Please, i have heard of Pangolin's knowledge et al. Can a suprasellar meningioma (if left untreated)? evolve into Glioblastoma Multiforme? I know they are not related but is there at least one study on this? No, i am a member of the US Armed Forces, not a medicine professional, but my buddy has been diagnosed with it and his brother died from glioblastoma, so i wondered. We have read something about a type of herpes having something to do with glioblastoma, but we'd like to know. Thanks.

Answer: Both are tumors that grow inside the cranium, but come from different types of cells. They don't change from one to the other, just like skin cancer doesn't change into liver cancer. Is this what you read? http://www.scientificamerican.com/articl… It looks like CMV isn't necessarily causative, but there may be some association, and a vaccine directed at CMV might help patients diagnosed with GM.

Question: my mom is 62 yrs old, diagnosed by mri to have a frontal cranium meningioma what are recovery stats? she has some other less serious conditions,,,,asbestos i the lungs

Answer: If you mom's meningioma is small doctors might advise her to "wait and watch". In that case they would do regular MRI's to see if the meningioma is growing. If it remains the same and isn't causing symptoms it would be safer to leave it alone. If the meningioma is already large and appears to be growing, brain surgery to remove all or part of it is the normal treatment. If surgery is not an option due to the location there are radiation treatments that can shrink the tumor.