I get to spend my summer vacation in the luxurious new hospital at NIH! A tumor in my neck has been growing slowly for the past year or so. From one scan to the next it was not clear that the tumor was growing, and much of the time the net growth was less than doctors would consider a meaningful change (i.e., the doctors would normally not have told the patient). However, between December and the scans two weeks ago the change was clear, and therefore my doctor Dr. Fine decided to consult with the head of Neurosurgery at NIH, Dr. Oldfield, who specializes in spine tumors (and pituitary gland tumors). It was decided last Friday to take out this tumor while it is still of a manageable size (about 1 cm). I just returned from getting a second opinion corroborating this treatment plan. I go in for the pre-operation prep on Thursday, August 18, and the operation will be on Friday, August 19. I will most likely be released in the middle of the following week. Dr. Oldfield says that my neck muscles will be quite bruised, and my return to a normal schedule will depend on the muscular pain-on the order of 2 weeks.

We have heard from a number of sources that Dr. Oldfield is the person you want rummaging around your spine with a sharp knife.

When I developed this condition 3.5 years ago I was told, almost apologetically, that the radiation would almost definitely not knock out the tumors, and that my ependymoma should be considered a chronic condition. Since I was worried about another possibility, I was happy with a prognosis of 'chronic.' While I do not relish an operation ("You mean, you consider taking that tumor off my spinal cord straightforward?!?"), I am thankful that it has taken this long for the second episode to occur. All the other tumors are stable. Three years ago the doctors reassured me that they had many weapons in their arsenal against what I have, but there was an implication that the later tools would be desperate measures. Therefore, I am relieved that this treatment is a (relatively) standard operation, not a last ditch effort, and that if all goes well (someone is going to be playing with a sharp knife next to my spinal cord, after all), I should be fully functional afterwards.