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Thursday, October 13, 2011

Upcoming MRI on 10/17

Well, I have my next MRI this coming Monday and then a follow-up with Dr. Lai afterwards. Am a bit anxious about what the MRI will reveal. I believe this feeling of anxiousness before an MRI scan and its finding is called “scanxiety.”

This MRI should dictate the growth rate and characteristic of the type of tumor that I have. I am hoping for the best in that it will show no growth of the remaining tumor. According to Dr. Lai, there should be little to no growth as it is a grade 2 oligoastrocytoma. If there is significant growth then it will mean that the tumor will have taken a turn for the worse. Therefore, a more aggressive treatment would be needed such as radiation surgery, which is similar to radiation therapy, but at a much higher dosage. Also, I may need another surgery depending on the location and amount of growth.

At this point though, assuming that the results are positive, I am leaning towards radiation therapy. Again, it seems that the effectiveness of each treatment are about equal and it’s just coming down to what I think I can live with after assessing the positives and negatives of each. I probably won’t make the ultimate final decision until I’m in the office with Dr. Lai on Monday.

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