Mom underwent her gamma knife surgery July 1st. Basically, it was an outpatient radiation treatment that directly targets the tumor in the brain. She went in at 5:30am where they ran some tests then did 35 minutes of radiation. She was home by 9:30am. She has been feeling okay aside from some localized pain and swelling where they had to insert the pins.
You can read more about the gamma knife procedure here:
http://www.gamma-knife-surgery.com/
The results of this test are imperative. If the next MRI (about 2.5 months from now) shows that the gamma knife eliminated the cancer in the brain, then she can be considered for surgery to remove the mass in her lung and surrounding lymph nodes. If the MRI shows there is still abnormal tissue in the brain, then Mom will no longer be a candidate for surgery.
In the meantime, she will be receiving chemo/radiation treatments for 6 weeks starting mid-month to target the lung tumor and cancerous cells in the lymph nodes. The doctor said not all patients lose their hair with chemo, but due to the types of medicine they will be using, her hairwill fall out. The treatments are five days a week with a longer session on Monday, then shorter sessions the other days of the week.
That's all the information we have right now. I'll be sure to update the blog as soon as any news becomes available.
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