In addition to being Grade II WHO meningioma (jump down to the atypical - I have sheets and a mitosis as high as 7), here are some other interesting findings:
* pre- and post operative diagnosis: right convexity meningioma
* official procedure performed: craniotomy
* meningioma size: 7 x 7 x 2 cm (nice size - bigger than a baseball, not quite as big as grapefruit!)
* section of dura actually removed: 7.4 x 8.1 cm
* other findings: tumor cells are immunoreactive for progesterone receptor
Women are affected with meningiomas more than 2:1, so there is a strong suspicion that hormones play a factor. In fact, since a teenager, I have been hormonally challenged. Strong suspicion that I've probably had the meningioma for decades. Then you add outside (and non-human I might add) hormones to make me 'appear' normal, which probably just added fuel to a fire (the meningioma) that was already there. And something that was probably causing my problems in the first place!
In fact, I've done research, and you will find lots of women in their 50's who have been diagnosed with a meningioma, after they have taken hormone therapy for menopause.
Some interesting articles on this subject:
The Women's Health Initiative Study: The estrogen plus progestin trial stopped in July 2002 after investigators found that the associated health risks of this combination hormone therapy outweighed benefits.
How this affects my other chronic diseases: Crohn's Disease and Ankylosing Spondilitis
Many of you have asked whether my other health issues could have been affected by this. It's hard to say, but when your brain is being crushed, there's no telling how the body compensates for that! The next several months will be fascinating to see how my body reacts to the tumor being gone. And you can be sure that I will do everything I can to work with my doctors to figure all this stuff out and manage it appropriately. This truly is exciting, and marks the beginning of the rest of my life!
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