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PITUITARY MACROADENOMA WITH APOPLEXY
Hello everyone,
My mom aged 50 yrs has been diagnosed with pituitary adenoma with apoplexy on May 2016. She soon underwent a surgery of its removal through open craniotomy but the doctors could not take a whole out of it due to the complexity of the nerves as said by him. The day after surgery she went another 2 major surgeries namely
1) Placement of VP shunt 2) EVD.
She is now taking all the prescribed medicines like hydrocortisone tablets 15mg a day and many other tablets.She also has diabetes mellitus and taking insulin. It has now been 3 months post operation and after doing an MRI the size is showing (1.0*1.8*0.9)cm .The doctor has advised her to take radiation therapy. My question to all is that, is radiation therapy a part of the treatment and what are the pros.and cons. of radiation therapy and what are the probable side effects and chances of recurring again?
My mom aged 50 yrs has been diagnosed with pituitary adenoma with apoplexy on May 2016. She soon underwent a surgery of its removal through open craniotomy but the doctors could not take a whole out of it due to the complexity of the nerves as said by him. The day after surgery she went another 2 major surgeries namely
1) Placement of VP shunt 2) EVD.
She is now taking all the prescribed medicines like hydrocortisone tablets 15mg a day and many other tablets.She also has diabetes mellitus and taking insulin. It has now been 3 months post operation and after doing an MRI the size is showing (1.0*1.8*0.9)cm .The doctor has advised her to take radiation therapy. My question to all is that, is radiation therapy a part of the treatment and what are the pros.and cons. of radiation therapy and what are the probable side effects and chances of recurring again?
how r u now? and where r u from?
1 Comments
I have not had radiation yet, but I replace all hormones but one.
How is your mom?
How is your mom?
I am sorry to hear about your mom.
You did not say what type of tumor or what the size was originally but I guess it was non-functioning (IMHO a terrible name as it may not secrete hormones but it does a lot). Given what you said, it sounds like it grew down into the cavernous sinus and that part is inoperable. It helps you (as a fellow patient) to get copies of everything to know details so you know if she is being treated properly.
So, did the pituitary have the apoplexy or did she have a stroke during surgery?
Radiation is common when a lesion (aka tumor) grows back or on the inoperable parts.
There are 3 basic types that I know and then there are different delivery systems. Gamma is the oldest and is one shot. Cyber knife is another form and takes multiple visits (the person will gets a mask or holder to make sure the placement is the same and the newest is proton beam. If you can get it, I would get proton beam as it is the most sparring of healthy tissue.
The gamma and cyber knife will effect the tissues that they pass through but the extent is unknown. Doctors will minimize this. They will push what they have at their location and it may or may not be the best form for your mother so do research. The push is one and done, but a large dose can promote side effects later... I have known many people with gamma and I would never do it myself as they almost all ended up in a bad way.
You did not say what type of tumor or what the size was originally but I guess it was non-functioning (IMHO a terrible name as it may not secrete hormones but it does a lot). Given what you said, it sounds like it grew down into the cavernous sinus and that part is inoperable. It helps you (as a fellow patient) to get copies of everything to know details so you know if she is being treated properly.
So, did the pituitary have the apoplexy or did she have a stroke during surgery?
Radiation is common when a lesion (aka tumor) grows back or on the inoperable parts.
There are 3 basic types that I know and then there are different delivery systems. Gamma is the oldest and is one shot. Cyber knife is another form and takes multiple visits (the person will gets a mask or holder to make sure the placement is the same and the newest is proton beam. If you can get it, I would get proton beam as it is the most sparring of healthy tissue.
The gamma and cyber knife will effect the tissues that they pass through but the extent is unknown. Doctors will minimize this. They will push what they have at their location and it may or may not be the best form for your mother so do research. The push is one and done, but a large dose can promote side effects later... I have known many people with gamma and I would never do it myself as they almost all ended up in a bad way.
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