Meningioma Mommas is making its mark toward their goal of donating one million dollars to fund meningioma research.
They have renewed their funding with Johns Hopkins University with a new $12,000 donation bringing the total tally to $192,000.
Thank you for celebrating this major milestone with Meningioma Mommas!
We are still far from a meningioma cure. Together we can bridge that gap.
Help us close it with a donation today!
http://www.meningiomamommas.com/donations
Monday, February 13, 2012
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Savoring Sweet Second Chances...
"If you woke up breathing, congratulations! You have another chance."--Andrea Boydston
Thankfully I received that chance 12 years ago when Dr. Timothy Fullagar removed my meningioma and saved my life.
Here's to celebrating my 12th second chance.
Thankfully I received that chance 12 years ago when Dr. Timothy Fullagar removed my meningioma and saved my life.
Here's to celebrating my 12th second chance.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Meningioma Monday...
 |
| Recipes for a meningioma cure! |
Violets are blue
I'd love to send a cookbook to you!
Are you feeling the love this month?! I hope you are! Please help find homes for the 471 remaining cookbooks.
100% of the proceeds fund meningioma research. We need a cure!
NEW LOW PRICE!! Save $10--cookbooks are only $15 each or 2 for $25 now!!!
FEEDING THE MIND & SOUL: It's More Than Just A Cookbook is a wonderful collection of mouth watering tried and true favorites from our very own Meningioma Mommas & Poppas and their caregivers, family and friends.
Enjoy everything from a Poppa's refreshing Instant Lobotomy “Brain Teaser” to a family treasured Apple Dapple Cake “Out-Of-Your-Mind Dessert” from a Yale neurosurgeon's sister! It's a no brainer with inspiring and humorous quotes to boot in this truly one-of-a-kind cookbook.
This cookbook is perfect for moms, dads, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters, grandmothers, grandfathers, in-laws, outlaws, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends, nannies, neighbors, poker parties, book clubs, bunko groups, MOPS...
Feeding the Mind & Soul makes a great anniversary, birthday, engagement, divorce, wedding and hostess present too. Don’t forget to pick one up for your kids’ teachers, your yoga instructor, accountant, therapist, babysitter, banker teller, hairdresser, lawyer, personal trainer, life coach, postal worker, newspaper carrier, milk deliver, barber, zen master, gardener…It’s also a lovely way to honor your team of doctors.
Here's how to order today:
Send a check made payable to Meningioma Mommas to:
Meningioma Mommas
9249 S. Broadway Blvd.
Unit 200-PMB#240
Highlands Ranch, CO 80129
or use PayPal:
https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_flow&SESSION=fbcQ7RxtFrEEBTaYra8TrqVKL1qU1pyguF-5wzU55h-M0Cjce1ThOkbu47C&dispatch=50a222a57771920b6a3d7b606239e4d529b525e0b7e69bf0224adecfb0124e9b61f737ba21b081982c6ea0c3af0b8ad315dd45f3fe2ad43b
Friday, February 3, 2012
Before the Sun Rises...
 |
| Ex-roommate! |
It was 12 years ago today, but it still feels like that morning. A damp, cold, gray, Colorado winter morning when the sun had yet to rise and peak through my shutters stirring me from sleep. Instead, the high pierced shrill of a phone performed the sun’s daily ritual.
With receiver pressed firmly against my ear, an uneven, sterile voice greeted (if you could call it that) me. The unfamiliar, gravelly voice delivered a fate I still carry to this day and will until my last breath.
It only took four words.
“You have a meningioma,” the hollow voice uttered.
“A whaaaat?!” I stuttered back.
“A BRAIN TUMOR,” the voice continued, sending chills down my spine.
How do you even spell that I wanted to know as I desperately rifled through my nightstand drawer in search of a pen, a pencil—ah, heck my Mac Spice lip liner would do.
Men-in-gioma sounds more like a group of guys test-driving the latest foreign import, with all the bells and whistles, not to mention the 2.9% available financing option.
If only it could have been that simple.
The line went dead.
But surely it was me who was dead. I had become that damp, cold, gray Colorado winter morning.
Just hours later, I sat in horror as my newly appointed neurosurgeon explained the MRI I’d had the night before. Never-before-heard terms soared over my head.
Middle third sphenoid wing meningioma.
Cavernous sinus.
Lateral ventricular compression.
You’d have to be a brain surgeon to understand any of this stuff. Thankfully, the man in the overly starched, white lab coat standing in front of me was.
I forced myself to look at the snapshots of my illuminated brain. Images of a baseball-sized mass glared back at me in defiance. My husband was a major league ballplayer at the time, but I never imagined I’d be looking at the equivalent size of one in my head. Surely there had been a mix up. I was healthy, only 32 and trying to start a family. Maybe this explained my struggles to become pregnant the past year.
“You’ve probably had this tumor for over a decade,” my neurosurgeon solemnly announced.
“A decade!” I choked. I had had a “roommate” living inside of my head for 10 years? The only roommates I ever recalled having were back in college and graduate school, who shared their English Lit notes with you and gave you aspirin and a glass of water after a night of one too many beers.
I couldn’t get out of my head the Kindergarten Cop scene in which Arnold Schwarzenegger shouted, “It’s not a tumor!” I so wanted to believe this. But this wasn’t a fictional movie.
It was real life and it was mine. Surgery would be long and risky, but I didn’t have a choice. In just 8 days I would have a word I never thought would be in my vocabulary--a craniotomy.
To be continued...
p.s. And instead of a damp, cold, gray morning....we're in the middle of a blizzard!
Monday, January 30, 2012
Meningioma Monday...
"A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your steps as you walk the tightrope of life."--William Arthur Ward
It hasn't always been easy traversing this meningioma minefield of a journey, but I've found humor not only helpful, but extremely healing.
Humor has numerous benefits. It's been medically proven to:
*Reduce Pain.
*Decreases Stress.
*Strengthen Immune System.
Humor also has a positive impact on emotional and intellectual functioning:
• Helps put life’s trials and tribulations into healthy perspective by making them seem smaller.
• Aids us in overcoming fear.
• Allows us to take ourselves less seriously.
• Triggers our creativity.
• Burns calories!
Humor is great health care. I still can't figure out why Blue Cross and Kaiser don’t pay for it!
I now share with a few of my favorite ways to add humor to your life:
*Pretend you are a humor columnist and have to report several funny incidents daily.
*Rent funny movies.
*Buy/check out from library comedy books & tapes.
*View your life as a sitcom. Who would you cast as your family, your boss, your nosy neighbor, yourself?
*Sing your biggest problem set to your favorite song.
*Imagine Woody Allen is filming and starring in your life.
*Give hugs and smile at a stranger—it’s hard not to feel good when you’re doing something that makes you feel good too.
How do you get your daily dose of brain tumor humor?!
It hasn't always been easy traversing this meningioma minefield of a journey, but I've found humor not only helpful, but extremely healing.
Humor has numerous benefits. It's been medically proven to:
*Reduce Pain.
*Decreases Stress.
*Strengthen Immune System.
Humor also has a positive impact on emotional and intellectual functioning:
• Helps put life’s trials and tribulations into healthy perspective by making them seem smaller.
• Aids us in overcoming fear.
• Allows us to take ourselves less seriously.
• Triggers our creativity.
• Burns calories!
Humor is great health care. I still can't figure out why Blue Cross and Kaiser don’t pay for it!
I now share with a few of my favorite ways to add humor to your life:
*Pretend you are a humor columnist and have to report several funny incidents daily.
*Rent funny movies.
*Buy/check out from library comedy books & tapes.
*View your life as a sitcom. Who would you cast as your family, your boss, your nosy neighbor, yourself?
*Sing your biggest problem set to your favorite song.
*Imagine Woody Allen is filming and starring in your life.
*Give hugs and smile at a stranger—it’s hard not to feel good when you’re doing something that makes you feel good too.
How do you get your daily dose of brain tumor humor?!
Monday, January 23, 2012
Meningioma Monday...
"Creativity is contagious. Pass it on.” — Albert Einstein
I admire creative people especially those with an artistic bent. Being one who works with words, it was only natural to wonder if I would lose the ability to write after my meningioma surgeries. Thankfully, time and lots of healing proved my doubts and fears wrong.
Despite my meningioma, I'm still able to pursue my craft. Along my meningioma journey I've been fortunate to cross paths with other meningioma survivors who are still able to pursue their creative passions.
Today's "Creative Cranium" shout out goes to Linda Roman, a meningioma survivor who is the creative genius behind Solcreations for you. Linda also pays her talent forward by supporting meningioma survivors and research.
Check her out at:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/solcreator
I admire creative people especially those with an artistic bent. Being one who works with words, it was only natural to wonder if I would lose the ability to write after my meningioma surgeries. Thankfully, time and lots of healing proved my doubts and fears wrong.
Despite my meningioma, I'm still able to pursue my craft. Along my meningioma journey I've been fortunate to cross paths with other meningioma survivors who are still able to pursue their creative passions.
Today's "Creative Cranium" shout out goes to Linda Roman, a meningioma survivor who is the creative genius behind Solcreations for you. Linda also pays her talent forward by supporting meningioma survivors and research.
Check her out at:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/solcreator
Monday, January 16, 2012
Meningioma Monday...
"You have a meningioma."
"A wh-what?" I stuttered.
"How do you even spell that?"
"Men-in-gioma sound more like a group of guys test-driving the latest foreign import with all the bells and whistles, not to mention the 8.9 percent available financing option."--From intro to Curveball: When Life Throws You a Brain Tumor (Ghost Road Press)
So what exactly is this tongue twister that also happens to be the most common primary brain tumor?!
Today's Meningioma Monday features an excellent primary on meningioma. Now if I could just pronounce it properly after all these years!
Thank you to Brigham and Women's Hospital.
What is a meningioma?
A meningioma is a type of tumor that develops from the meninges, the membrane that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. There are three layers of meninges, called the dura mater, arachnoid and pia mater. Most meningiomas (90%) are categorized as benign tumors, with the remaining 10% being atypical or malignant. However, the word "benign" can be misleading in this case, as when benign tumors grow and constrict and affect the brain, they can cause disability and even be life threatening.
In many cases, benign meningiomas grow slowly. This means that depending upon where it is located, a meningioma may reach a relatively large size before it causes symptoms. Other meningiomas grow more rapidly, or have sudden growth spurts. There is no way to predict the rate of growth for a meningioma, or to know for certain how long a specific tumor was growing before diagnosis.
Most people with a meningioma will only have a tumor at only one site, but it is also possible to have several tumors growing simultaneously in different parts of the brain and spinal cord. When multiple meningiomas occur, more than one type of treatment may have to be used.
Meningiomas vary in their symptoms and appropriate treatment options depending on where they are located.
A primary brain tumor originates in the central nervous system, while metastatic brain tumors spread to the brain from other parts of the body. Meningiomas account for about 27% of primary brain tumors, making them the most common of that type.
Who is at risk?
Meningiomas are most common in people between the ages of 40 and 70. They are more common in women than in men. Among middle-aged patients, there is a marked female bias, with a female: male ratio of almost 3:1 in the brain and up to 6:1 in the spinal cord. Meningiomas are very rare in children, with pediatric cases accounting for only 1.5% of the total.
How is the diagnosis made?
Meningiomas may cause seizures, headaches, and focal neurological defects, such as arm or leg weakness, or vision loss. Patients often have subtle symptoms for a long period before the meningioma is diagnosed. Sometimes memory loss, carelessness, and unsteadiness are the only symptoms.
How are meningiomas classified?
Meningiomas were originally classified into 9 major subtypes based on their structure and form. However, more recently it’s become more common to group them into three major classes, or not to distinguish subtypes at all. Multiple classifications exist today, but the most commonly used is the World Health Organization’s (WHO) "Classification of Tumours of the Nervous System," most recently updated in 2000. The WHO 2000 Classification of Meningiomas is located here.
What difference does the location of the tumor make?
Convexity meningiomas
These grow on the surface of the brain, often toward the front. They may not produce symptoms until they reach a large size. Symptoms of a convexity meningioma are seizures, focal neurological deficits, or headaches.
Falx and Parasagittal meningiomas
The falx is a groove that runs between the two sides of the brain (front to back), and contains a large blood vessel (sagittal sinus). Parasagittal tumors lie near or close to the falx. Because of the danger of puncturing the blood vessels, removing a tumor in the falx or parasagittal region can be difficult. Large parasagittal meningiomas may result in bilateral leg weakness.
Olfactory groove meningiomas
Olfactory groove meningiomas grow along the nerves that run between the brain and the nose. These nerves allow you to smell, and so often tumors growing here cause loss of smell. If they grow large enough, olfactory groove meningiomas can also compress the nerves to the eyes, causing visual symptoms. Similarly, meningiomas growing on the optic nerve can cause visual problems, including loss of patches within your field of vision, or even blindness. They can grow to a large size prior to being diagnosed due to changes in the sense of smell and mental status changes being difficult to catch.
Sphenoid meningiomas
Sphenoid meningiomas lie behind the eyes. These tumors can cause visual problems, loss of sensation in the face, or facial numbness. Tumors in this location can sometimes involve the blood sources of the brain (e.g. cavernous sinus, or carotid arteries), making them difficult or impossible to completely remove.
Posterior fossa meningiomas
Posterior fossa tumors lie on the underside of the brain. These tumors can compress the cranial nerves causing facial symptoms or loss of hearing. Petroclival tumors can compress the trigeminal nerve, resulting in sharp pain in the face (trigeminal neuralgia) or spasms of the facial muscles. Tentorial meningiomas or those near the area where your spinal cord connects to your brain (foramen magnum) can cause headaches, or other signs of brain stem compression like trouble walking.
Intraventricular meningiomas
Intraventricular meningiomas are associated with the connected chambers of fluid that circulate throughout the central nervous system. They can block the flow of this fluid causing pressure to build up, which can produce headaches and dizziness.
Intraorbital meningiomas
Intraorbital meningiomas grow around the eye sockets of your skull and can cause pressure in the eyes to build up, giving a bulging appearance. They can also cause an increasing loss of vision.
Spinal meningiomas
Spinal meningiomas account for less than 10% of meningiomas. They tend to occur in women (with a female/ male ratio of 5:1), usually between the ages of 40 and 70. They are intradural (within or enclosed within the dura mater), extramedullary (outside or unrelated to any medulla) tumors occurring predominantly in the thoracic spine. They can cause back pain, or pain in the limbs from compression of the nerves where they run into the spinal cord.
How common is each location?
Falx or parasagittal 25%
Convexity 20%
Sphenoid wing 20%
Olfactory groove 10%
Supresellar 10%
Posterior fossa (petrosal) 10%
Intraventricular 2%
Miscellaneous (e.g., optic nerve, clivius) 3%
What factors predispose people to meningiomas?
The only known predisposing factors associated with meningiomas are exposure to radiation, and certain genetic disorders (e.g. neurofibromatosis). Some have reported an association between meningiomas and the site of a previous injury (e.g. head trauma). However, the relationship with previous head injury isn’t well understood. Some have suggested that viruses may play some role as well, but this is unsubstantiated at this point.
Meningiomas are also more common in women than in men, and have shown increased growth during pregnancy. They have hormone receptors and progesterone and estrogen may play a role in their development, but that role is still unclear.
Previous Trauma
Meningiomas have been found at the site of previous trauma (such as near a previous skull fracture, scarred dura, or around foreign bodies), but the relationship isn’t fully understood.
Radiation
Exposure to radiation has been found to be associated with a higher incidence of meningiomas. For example, survivors of Hiroshima have an increased incidence of these tumors. The more recently developed methods of delivering radiation therapy that use focused beams help to limit unnecessary exposure to areas outside the target, and so are expected to be safer. Patients who have undergone broad radiation treatments in the past should take care to watch for symptoms and monitor themselves for meningiomas. Meningiomas caused by radiation exposure are generally more aggressive.
Genetic Predisposition
People with a genetic disorder known as neurofibromatosis type 2 (Nf2) are more likely to develop meningiomas. Of people with malignant meningiomas, a higher percent have mutations in NF2.
There are some genes that may act as tumor suppressors, and the lack or deletion of these genes may make people more susceptible to tumors. For example, patients with Nf2 are, unfortunately, more likely to develop meningiomas because they have inherited a gene which has the potential to cause normal cells to become cancerous.
Viruses
There is a possibility that viruses may be related to meningioma formation, but the relationship is not defined.
What are the indicators of a good or less good outcome?
Age
The age of the patient at the time the tumor is removed influences outcome. Younger patients tend to do better after surgery than older patients do do. However, older patients in otherwise good health should not assume that their chances of a good outcome are diminished.
Tumor location and accessibility
People with tumors that invade the brain tend to do more poorly than patients with tumors that do not invade. Similarly, people with tumors on the outer surface of the brain (convexity) tend to better than those with tumors that are difficult to access, like those on the undersurface of the brain, in regions adjacent to important structures like those needed for breathing or movement, or near large blood vessels. Incomplete removal of the tumor, which is usually due to limitations caused by the location of the tumor, is associated with a higher chance of tumor recurrence. Residual tumor cells are a potential source of new tumor growth.
Extent of removal
The major clinical factor in recurrence is the extent of resection/ removal. How completely the surgeon is able to remove the tumor is highly affected by the location of the tumor, whether it is adjacent or attached to anything else, and the age of the patient.
Survival estimates show a marked difference when grouped by type. Benign meningiomas have the highest survival rate, followed by atypical meningiomas and then malignant.
Age at the time of diagnosis is also indicates an increased chance of survival. The younger patients have better survival rates.
Brain invasion indicates an increased chance of recurrence. Brain-invasive benign meningiomas act like atypical meningiomas overall.
http://www.brighamandwomens.org/Departments_and_Services/neurosurgery/Meningioma/Meningiomafacts.aspxDiagnosis is made by a contrast enhanced CT and/or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan. While MRIs are in some ways superior, the CT can be helpful in determining if the tumor invades the bone, or if it’s becoming hard like bone.
"A wh-what?" I stuttered.
"How do you even spell that?"
"Men-in-gioma sound more like a group of guys test-driving the latest foreign import with all the bells and whistles, not to mention the 8.9 percent available financing option."--From intro to Curveball: When Life Throws You a Brain Tumor (Ghost Road Press)
So what exactly is this tongue twister that also happens to be the most common primary brain tumor?!
Today's Meningioma Monday features an excellent primary on meningioma. Now if I could just pronounce it properly after all these years!
Thank you to Brigham and Women's Hospital.
What is a meningioma?
A meningioma is a type of tumor that develops from the meninges, the membrane that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. There are three layers of meninges, called the dura mater, arachnoid and pia mater. Most meningiomas (90%) are categorized as benign tumors, with the remaining 10% being atypical or malignant. However, the word "benign" can be misleading in this case, as when benign tumors grow and constrict and affect the brain, they can cause disability and even be life threatening.
In many cases, benign meningiomas grow slowly. This means that depending upon where it is located, a meningioma may reach a relatively large size before it causes symptoms. Other meningiomas grow more rapidly, or have sudden growth spurts. There is no way to predict the rate of growth for a meningioma, or to know for certain how long a specific tumor was growing before diagnosis.
Most people with a meningioma will only have a tumor at only one site, but it is also possible to have several tumors growing simultaneously in different parts of the brain and spinal cord. When multiple meningiomas occur, more than one type of treatment may have to be used.
Meningiomas vary in their symptoms and appropriate treatment options depending on where they are located.
A primary brain tumor originates in the central nervous system, while metastatic brain tumors spread to the brain from other parts of the body. Meningiomas account for about 27% of primary brain tumors, making them the most common of that type.
Who is at risk?
Meningiomas are most common in people between the ages of 40 and 70. They are more common in women than in men. Among middle-aged patients, there is a marked female bias, with a female: male ratio of almost 3:1 in the brain and up to 6:1 in the spinal cord. Meningiomas are very rare in children, with pediatric cases accounting for only 1.5% of the total.
How is the diagnosis made?
Meningiomas may cause seizures, headaches, and focal neurological defects, such as arm or leg weakness, or vision loss. Patients often have subtle symptoms for a long period before the meningioma is diagnosed. Sometimes memory loss, carelessness, and unsteadiness are the only symptoms.
How are meningiomas classified?
Meningiomas were originally classified into 9 major subtypes based on their structure and form. However, more recently it’s become more common to group them into three major classes, or not to distinguish subtypes at all. Multiple classifications exist today, but the most commonly used is the World Health Organization’s (WHO) "Classification of Tumours of the Nervous System," most recently updated in 2000. The WHO 2000 Classification of Meningiomas is located here.
What difference does the location of the tumor make?
Convexity meningiomas
These grow on the surface of the brain, often toward the front. They may not produce symptoms until they reach a large size. Symptoms of a convexity meningioma are seizures, focal neurological deficits, or headaches.
Falx and Parasagittal meningiomas
The falx is a groove that runs between the two sides of the brain (front to back), and contains a large blood vessel (sagittal sinus). Parasagittal tumors lie near or close to the falx. Because of the danger of puncturing the blood vessels, removing a tumor in the falx or parasagittal region can be difficult. Large parasagittal meningiomas may result in bilateral leg weakness.
Olfactory groove meningiomas
Olfactory groove meningiomas grow along the nerves that run between the brain and the nose. These nerves allow you to smell, and so often tumors growing here cause loss of smell. If they grow large enough, olfactory groove meningiomas can also compress the nerves to the eyes, causing visual symptoms. Similarly, meningiomas growing on the optic nerve can cause visual problems, including loss of patches within your field of vision, or even blindness. They can grow to a large size prior to being diagnosed due to changes in the sense of smell and mental status changes being difficult to catch.
Sphenoid meningiomas
Sphenoid meningiomas lie behind the eyes. These tumors can cause visual problems, loss of sensation in the face, or facial numbness. Tumors in this location can sometimes involve the blood sources of the brain (e.g. cavernous sinus, or carotid arteries), making them difficult or impossible to completely remove.
Posterior fossa meningiomas
Posterior fossa tumors lie on the underside of the brain. These tumors can compress the cranial nerves causing facial symptoms or loss of hearing. Petroclival tumors can compress the trigeminal nerve, resulting in sharp pain in the face (trigeminal neuralgia) or spasms of the facial muscles. Tentorial meningiomas or those near the area where your spinal cord connects to your brain (foramen magnum) can cause headaches, or other signs of brain stem compression like trouble walking.
Intraventricular meningiomas
Intraventricular meningiomas are associated with the connected chambers of fluid that circulate throughout the central nervous system. They can block the flow of this fluid causing pressure to build up, which can produce headaches and dizziness.
Intraorbital meningiomas
Intraorbital meningiomas grow around the eye sockets of your skull and can cause pressure in the eyes to build up, giving a bulging appearance. They can also cause an increasing loss of vision.
Spinal meningiomas
Spinal meningiomas account for less than 10% of meningiomas. They tend to occur in women (with a female/ male ratio of 5:1), usually between the ages of 40 and 70. They are intradural (within or enclosed within the dura mater), extramedullary (outside or unrelated to any medulla) tumors occurring predominantly in the thoracic spine. They can cause back pain, or pain in the limbs from compression of the nerves where they run into the spinal cord.
How common is each location?
Falx or parasagittal 25%
Convexity 20%
Sphenoid wing 20%
Olfactory groove 10%
Supresellar 10%
Posterior fossa (petrosal) 10%
Intraventricular 2%
Miscellaneous (e.g., optic nerve, clivius) 3%
What factors predispose people to meningiomas?
The only known predisposing factors associated with meningiomas are exposure to radiation, and certain genetic disorders (e.g. neurofibromatosis). Some have reported an association between meningiomas and the site of a previous injury (e.g. head trauma). However, the relationship with previous head injury isn’t well understood. Some have suggested that viruses may play some role as well, but this is unsubstantiated at this point.
Meningiomas are also more common in women than in men, and have shown increased growth during pregnancy. They have hormone receptors and progesterone and estrogen may play a role in their development, but that role is still unclear.
Previous Trauma
Meningiomas have been found at the site of previous trauma (such as near a previous skull fracture, scarred dura, or around foreign bodies), but the relationship isn’t fully understood.
Radiation
Exposure to radiation has been found to be associated with a higher incidence of meningiomas. For example, survivors of Hiroshima have an increased incidence of these tumors. The more recently developed methods of delivering radiation therapy that use focused beams help to limit unnecessary exposure to areas outside the target, and so are expected to be safer. Patients who have undergone broad radiation treatments in the past should take care to watch for symptoms and monitor themselves for meningiomas. Meningiomas caused by radiation exposure are generally more aggressive.
Genetic Predisposition
People with a genetic disorder known as neurofibromatosis type 2 (Nf2) are more likely to develop meningiomas. Of people with malignant meningiomas, a higher percent have mutations in NF2.
There are some genes that may act as tumor suppressors, and the lack or deletion of these genes may make people more susceptible to tumors. For example, patients with Nf2 are, unfortunately, more likely to develop meningiomas because they have inherited a gene which has the potential to cause normal cells to become cancerous.
Viruses
There is a possibility that viruses may be related to meningioma formation, but the relationship is not defined.
What are the indicators of a good or less good outcome?
Age
The age of the patient at the time the tumor is removed influences outcome. Younger patients tend to do better after surgery than older patients do do. However, older patients in otherwise good health should not assume that their chances of a good outcome are diminished.
Tumor location and accessibility
People with tumors that invade the brain tend to do more poorly than patients with tumors that do not invade. Similarly, people with tumors on the outer surface of the brain (convexity) tend to better than those with tumors that are difficult to access, like those on the undersurface of the brain, in regions adjacent to important structures like those needed for breathing or movement, or near large blood vessels. Incomplete removal of the tumor, which is usually due to limitations caused by the location of the tumor, is associated with a higher chance of tumor recurrence. Residual tumor cells are a potential source of new tumor growth.
Extent of removal
The major clinical factor in recurrence is the extent of resection/ removal. How completely the surgeon is able to remove the tumor is highly affected by the location of the tumor, whether it is adjacent or attached to anything else, and the age of the patient.
Survival estimates show a marked difference when grouped by type. Benign meningiomas have the highest survival rate, followed by atypical meningiomas and then malignant.
Age at the time of diagnosis is also indicates an increased chance of survival. The younger patients have better survival rates.
Brain invasion indicates an increased chance of recurrence. Brain-invasive benign meningiomas act like atypical meningiomas overall.
http://www.brighamandwomens.org/Departments_and_Services/neurosurgery/Meningioma/Meningiomafacts.aspxDiagnosis is made by a contrast enhanced CT and/or MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan. While MRIs are in some ways superior, the CT can be helpful in determining if the tumor invades the bone, or if it’s becoming hard like bone.
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