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General health

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Original poster

A friend of mine has just been diagnosed with a brain tumour

99 replies

PrincessPeaHead · 01/05/2007 13:35

I'm in shock. Massive tumour, surgery tomorrow, shadow on her lung as well. Prognosis pretty crap I'd say
Late thirties, one 3 year old daughter, one dh who completely adores her.
She was fine when I saw her last week, but complaining of headaches
I'm in shock
I feel sick

OP posts:

tortoiseSHELL · 02/05/2007 19:47

Oh I've just seen this, I'm so sorry to read this pph, I hope there is a good outcome for your friend.

MaryBS · 02/05/2007 21:21

PPH praying for your friend.

LilyLoo · 02/05/2007 21:26

fingers crossed that the shadow turns out to be nothing and the tumour is operable xxxx it's awful i been there and know too well how hard it is waiting for news.

roseylea · 03/05/2007 10:35

PPH I am praying for your friend too.

onlyjoking9329 · 03/05/2007 11:16

how are things with your friend?

Original poster

PrincessPeaHead · 03/05/2007 16:21

surgery went well, the brought her up out of the anaesthetic for long enough to ask her questions to test her speecha and memory - she knew tony was PM, knew it was coming up to summer etc, speech was good, so that is a huge relief (apparently the risks of her surgery included memory loss and loss/impairment of speech)

I think but am notsure she is now sedated again until the weekend, then they bring her up out of it, and hopefully home next week

then the radiotherapy starts

so going as well as can be hoped, at this stage thank you everyone

OP posts:

TheDuchessOfNorksBride · 03/05/2007 16:38

So far, so good. xx

Practical support for the whole family should not be underated. It's easy to offer help but if it's a general offer, people can't always think of things that would be useful or that wouldn't be too much trouble, so they say they're fine. If you suggest something, "I've made you a casserole to heat up later", "shall I pick DD up after pre-school" etc they are more likely to accept. (We've had a lot of cancer in the family so I'm well practiced).

Original poster

PrincessPeaHead · 03/05/2007 18:01

Yes -I've just bought that deborah hutton book "what can I do to help" which is excellent and full of ideas, Norks. I think I'm going to get cooking this weekend - I think the dinner rota that her friends set up for her (someone producing dinner for them every night) is a fantastic thing.

OP posts:

SoupDragon · 03/05/2007 18:05

Glad the surgery went well.

Tamum · 03/05/2007 18:09

I'm so sorry PPH, I only just saw this. Agree it's wildly unlikely that the lung shadow is a metastasis from the brain. I really hope that the brain tumour is operable and the lung shadow is nothing.
xx

Original poster

PrincessPeaHead · 03/05/2007 19:17

Thanks tamum
The brain tumour is out now, seems to have gone well.
How likely is it that the lung is the primary, given the fact that she has never smoked? And would the fact that she has had multiple IVF attempts make you look at her ovaries or am I worrying unnecessarily?

OP posts:

Califrau · 03/05/2007 19:23

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

SherlockLGJ · 03/05/2007 19:25

Only just seen this.

My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Much love

LGJ

Tamum · 03/05/2007 19:25

Well, I have to say I am always rather surprised by this, but repeated studies have shown no additional risk of ovarian cancer in people who have undergone IVF. Or breast for that matter. Has she had any other symptoms? Bloating? I would have thought lung cancer was unlikely at her age too, but a friend's sister has just been diagnosed with it in her early forties, two young children, never smoked and it's inoperable So it can happen, but it's certainly not common.

This is a fairly uneducated guess/gut feeling, but it does seem unlikely that anyone could have had lung cancer long enough not only to metastasize to the brain but for the brain tumour to grow to recognisable proportions, but for there to be no sign of lung cancer apart from a shadow. I really hope I'm right

Original poster

PrincessPeaHead · 03/05/2007 19:26

I haven't googled Calif! which is AMAZING as I'm an inveterate googler, but I just don't want to know.

I'm pleased that it could be a lung primary (what a bizarre sentence) - but somehow I feel that if that is what it is they know what they are dealing with. If they are both secondaries it seems much scarier to me. There is, obviously, no science behind that feeling whatsoever!
Eurgh.

OP posts:

SenoraPostrophe · 03/05/2007 19:28

hope she's ok pph.

Original poster

PrincessPeaHead · 03/05/2007 19:29

Oh good about IVF and ovaries (amazing if you think about it)

She had a really persistent cough all this winter. But then everyone seemed to have a really persistent cough this winter...
no bloating I don't think but I don't know. she did recently start going to weightwatchers so maybe she was feeling bloated....
just these terrible headaches for the last couple of months. and then this orange-sized tumour.

OP posts:

marthamoo · 03/05/2007 19:31

Have just seen this - just dreadful. As you say, it stops you in your tracks to think you can just be muddling through, sweating the small stuff, and suddenly something like this comes along and turns everything upside down. I wish your friend strength and a positive outcome.

Tamum · 03/05/2007 19:33

Actually, I just remembered (somewhat unforgiveably since I do some research in it)- ovarian tumours don't normally metastasise to distant sites, they are lethal because they spread through the endometrium and are very invasive, but it's local rather than distant spread. That was a star ovarian cancer specialist who told me that, so it must be true. So wildly unlikely to have gone from ovary to lung and brain. The cough doesn't sound too good but you're aboslutely right, loads of people had them this winter, and if it resolved before now then it's more likely to have been an infection, isn't it.

foxinsocks · 03/05/2007 19:33

oh how awful pph (what a week you're having ).

I really hope there's a positive outcome - I found that book wonderful when our neighbour got breast cancer, really helpful.

Original poster

PrincessPeaHead · 03/05/2007 19:40

tamum I love you
and treat everything you say as gospel so watch it
that all sounds v good
I think my job is to be incredibly optimistic, and you've given me reason to be, thanks

foxy, its been crap! yes, looking forward to reading that book properly with a glass of wine

OP posts:

ThatBeetroot · 03/05/2007 19:42

pph - shit - your job is also to let her talk about everything if she needs to. death, the lot.

horrid and heart breaking. I am there with you

Tamum · 03/05/2007 19:45

Well I love you too I do try and say stuff I actually know, but you know, you just never know. I do think there's every reason to hope it's not ovarian cancer though, truly.

onlyjoking9329 · 03/05/2007 19:57

optimistic is ok, but but sometimes it is hard to listen to as you feel like you are not allowed to be upset about things, or how you really feel.

rowan1971 · 03/05/2007 20:24

Brain mets are very common with lung cancer. My mother had two brain tumours before her lung cancer was diagnosed - in fact, it was the brain mets that drove her to the doctor, because the headaches were so awful that even she (an inveterate doctor-dodger) couldn't ignore them any longer.

Hope you hear some relatively good news soon, PPH. Agree with Cali about Googling (i.e., don't).

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