Another appointment, more confusion and more questions

Mark met with the neurosurgeon this morning and the appointment certainly didn't go as he expected. He brought the MRI scan with his oncologist's (Dr. Kendra), notes with him to the appointment. Based on the information Mark received from Dr. Kendra last week, he was expecting to meet with the surgeon today, show him his MRI of the brain, discuss Dr. Kendra's recommendation of brain surgery to remove the tumor and more than likely schedule the surgery before he left.

Instead, when the neurosurgeon looked at Mark's MRI, he dismissed the large tumor Dr. Kendra (and all of us) were so worried about, explaining it was simply a result of Mark's previous Gamma Knife procedures rather than a tumor. The surgeon focused his attention on a small dot in the middle of Mark's brain. He informed Mark that it was in fact the new tumor and that he would use the Gamma Knife radiation to treat it. Last week, Dr. Kendra told Mark the small dot in the center of his brain was probably a calcium deposit and not anything to be concerned about. When Mark explained to the neurosurgeon his conversations with Dr. Kendra last week, the neurosurgeon dismissed them saying she is an oncologist and this is his specialty not hers.

I'm sure you can see the problem here: Mark has now received polar opposite information from his trusted oncologist of five years and the neurosurgeon he met with today. While he was very glad to hear someone say he doesn't need brain surgery, he really wasn't looking forward to having another one of those, it's also very scary to have one person tell you it's a life threatening tumor and someone else telling you to ignore it.

What a frustrating position for him to be in. He doesn't know who to trust. Dr. Kendra is having him take steroids because the tumor is so big that he risks having a seizure, the neurosurgeon is saying it's not a tumor at all and he should ignore it. Dr. Kendra is saying the circle in the middle of his brain is a calcium deposit and nothing to be concerned with, the neurosurgeon is saying it's a new tumor and needs to be treated. The most frustrating part of all of this is while both of these doctors want to be experts and have the right answers, Mark's life is at stake with the person who is wrong.

I am not a doctor and I am certainly not an expert on cancer (although I've definitely learned a lot over the last five years), but my first question was: why wouldn't the neurosurgeon compare Mark's last year worth of MRI's to this new one. If in fact the large tumor is really just a result of his Gamma Knife procedures (which he hasn't had in years), wouldn't it have shown up on the previous MRI's? Why would it just be showing up now, a few years later? And how can the neurosurgeon, who has never seen Mark before or looked at any of his previous scans over the last five years, possibly know which tumors are new and which ones are old?

Obviously these two doctors weren't on the same page before this appointment which is another really frustrating component. Mark had to use a half day of his vacation for this appointment and doesn't feel he left with any answers, only more questions. His vacation days are very limited and he will certainly be needing all of them (and probably more) when he does start his various treatment plans.

I know Mark left his appointment today extremely frustrated, very confused and although he didn't say so, I'm sure very scared too. Who wouldn't be? We look to these experts for answers and what is quite possibly worse than them having none at all, is having two strong, completely opposite opinions and recommendations for treatment.

The neurosurgeon recommended that Mark meet with a radiologist, someone who would actually be performing the Gamma Knife radiation on the tumors so he plans to meet with him Wednesday afternoon. In the meantime, he is going to try and get in touch with Dr. Kendra for some answers.

Please pray that Mark finds the answers he needs to make the best decision for his health and that he is soon clear of this frustration and confusion so that he can focus on fighting the good fight and staying alive.