Husband Has Brain Tumor

[branv]

No advice, just wanted to say how sorry I am for all that you and your family are going through. Sending my best for your husbands health and recovery, as well as for your own peace during this time.

[BelleMaria]

I really love the idea that you are still open and pushing forward with the trip ( as long as he is well enough).

In my relationship I am not the caregiver, I am the sick one. But try to keep as positive as you can in this situation. If you have problems dealing with it please reach out to friends,family, and even professional help. Being a caregiver can be very hard. Trying to keep everything together and yet trying to stay positive for not only yourself but the other person is so important.

I will say that like many others on this board I also had a family member diagnosed with a brain tumor back in the mid 80's. She ended up living another 25+ years. Probably would have lived longer but dealt with some other medical issues. So there is hope!

Sending out my prayers

[BeckyEsq]

Thank you everyone for your kind posts! Things have improved greatly since I was last here. They took my husband off the steroids he was on and he is SO much better without them. They were really causing huge personality changes, sleep disorders, moodiness etc. and I am so happy to have my husband back now that he is off them. That has made my day to day life much easier. He is feeling pretty well right now and has only 8 more radiation treatments. After that he will receive chemo pills 5 days a month for at least 6 months. I think we are past the hardest part of the treatment though. We won't know if anything is working for a couple of more months but I am hopeful because he has not had any more of the symptoms he had when the tumor presented itself.

Someone asked about gamma knife. I believe his tumor was too large for that, but he is receiving radiation from a brain radiation specialist at UPMC here in Pittsburgh. I believe he is in good hands and getting the best treatment available for his current condition.

Planning the trip is VERY therapeutic. I figure worst case scenario we would have to move everything but we will definitely be going eventually so might as well continue to pay on it etc. I did ask his doctor if he would be okay to travel in August and he said sure, no problem. Planning to book our flights tomorrow and start making ADR's next week.

[AnnaS]

Originally Posted by BeckyEsq

Thank you everyone for your kind posts! Things have improved greatly since I was last here. They took my husband off the steroids he was on and he is SO much better without them. They were really causing huge personality changes, sleep disorders, moodiness etc. and I am so happy to have my husband back now that he is off them. That has made my day to day life much easier. He is feeling pretty well right now and has only 8 more radiation treatments. After that he will receive chemo pills 5 days a month for at least 6 months. I think we are past the hardest part of the treatment though. We won't know if anything is working for a couple of more months but I am hopeful because he has not had any more of the symptoms he had when the tumor presented itself.

Someone asked about gamma knife. I believe his tumor was too large for that, but he is receiving radiation from a brain radiation specialist at UPMC here in Pittsburgh. I believe he is in good hands and getting the best treatment available for his current condition.

Planning the trip is VERY therapeutic. I figure worst case scenario we would have to move everything but we will definitely be going eventually so might as well continue to pay on it etc. I did ask his doctor if he would be okay to travel in August and he said sure, no problem. Planning to book our flights tomorrow and start making ADR's next week.

Thank you for coming back with the update. You must have a ton of things to do and a ton of stuff in your mind. Happy planning - I know it's a great prescription for the whole family.

[NumberOneDisneyFan]

My thoughts are with you...

[BeckyEsq]

Just wanted to post a quick update. DH had an MRI on March 11 that showed a 15% reduction in the tumor. Doctors both said this was encouraging as it was still early. He is now doing 12 cycles of 5 nights of chemo per cycle. His bloodwork is good and he is feeling good and back to work! So things are feeling much more normal for us. We enjoyed our Easter as a family and are really looking forward to summer fun and our trip which is suddenly right around the corner!

[Gina-Gina-Bo-Bina]

Originally Posted by BeckyEsq

Just wanted to post a quick update. DH had an MRI on March 11 that showed a 15% reduction in the tumor. Doctors both said this was encouraging as it was still early. He is now doing 12 cycles of 5 nights of chemo per cycle. His bloodwork is good and he is feeling good and back to work! So things are feeling much more normal for us. We enjoyed our Easter as a family and are really looking forward to summer fun and our trip which is suddenly right around the corner!

Great news! Glad to hear your DH is doing better.

There definitely is hope out there. I was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 1998 and had an awake craniotomy for a total resection just before Christmast that year. Here I am, 14 years later, still going strong.

Stay positive and hang in there.

[BeckyEsq]

Thank you Gina!

[mommasita]

Good news. Thank you for updating us..