Dealing with brain cancer
This is part of a longer story, but a few weeks ago I found a Stage -1 tumor and a golf ball-sized cyst in my cerebellum. I felt fine beforehand and, other than headaches, don’t have symptoms. I’m in a weird purgatory waiting on my insurance to spec out costs so I can schedule the surgery, but other than that I know this isn’t helping my PTSD.
@spectre800
Glad it was a stage 1 rather than anything worse. But I understand that it must feel difficult to be with that knowledge and still waiting to get your approval for your surgery/treatment. Hope your doctor was able to reassure you of your condition and your symptoms and I hoping for a speedy treatment/recovery. Hang in there.
I first encountered symptoms while trekking in Nepal last November. I was feeling sick and eventually couldn’t hold anything down, followed by a total loss of balance and coordination. After falling down some ancient stone steps, the lead Sherpa and I tried to backtrack to the airport, but it was too far (we were about twenty miles in at that point) so we helicoptered out of there and flew to a hospital in Kathmandu the next morning. Super serious, scary stuff. I was tested for (and we thought it was) a cerebral edema (brain swelling from altitude, and it was only recently that I discovered it was cancer after getting tired of severe post-trip migraines and finally got an MRI referral.
The whole experience is layered with the disappointment of failing at something I’d spent the past few years preparing and training for, alongside the currently *** economic situation that has run my freelance work ragged. Plus the weirdness of feeling fine and knowing that I’m actually not fine. It’s a weird-*** time all around and I feel like I can’t get a win in.
