Oligo - Astrocytoma Brain Tumor Information Needed.

Hi. My name is Lori. My brother was diagnosed with an Oligo-Astrocytoma, malignant, brain tumor, located directly behimd his brain stem, leaning more into the right side, 3 months ago. He has just finished radiation and is getting ready to start chemo. I really know nothing, other then the things I have learned over the last 3 months about cancer, which seems to be so little. Looking for someone, who has or is close to someone who has similiar brain tumor, and can offer advice, or encouragement, but always the truth. Good or bad.

Godbless any and all who are fighting this horrible disease, I pray for all the people everyday, God knows their names, even if I don't.

Godbless, Lori

I would like to communicate with caregivers of those diagnosed with oaIII. My husband was diagnosed in February and had a resection in march. I have seen some personality changes and I wonder if it was the tumor/surgery or a reaction to his treatment - (radiation / temador). Also, what kind of prognosis are you hearing. Ours has been dismal. Thank you for any information you can give.

jan

Hi Jan & all,
My mom (60 yrs.old) was diagnosed with a mixed oligodendrogiloma in June of 94. I am her only child and she is single. She moved in with me & my family after her first resection and I was her caregiver for the past 10 months. She went through several rounds of temodar & radiation, had a second resection and has just run out of treatment options. She has a history of Lupus , so her blood system could not handle the temodar.
To answer your question, yes, I have seen a lot of personality changes. My mom's cancer also affected her mobilty on her her left side, so it is almost as if she has suffered a stroke and battles a malignant tumor at the same time. It has been the hardest thing any of us has had to deal with. My husband & I have often been confused about my mom's personality changes. It is so hard to know what is caused by the tumor/treatment vs. what is simply my mom having a hard time dealing with all the negative change in her life. She is extremely angry, bitter and just not the mom I remember at all. After her last hoapital ER visit ( there have been many) she was admitted into a nursing home. I have two small children under 3 years old and am pregnanat with our third. This was extremely difficult seeing my mom in a nursing home - she is only 60! Yet, her medical needs are very high right now and she needs full time medical help. My husband is on the way right now to take her to the hospital again because the home called and said she is very out of it and her blood pressure is very high. The last few days when we talked she would say dreadful things like she didn't know where she went wrong in raising me and that nobody loves her and that she has nothing to offer anybody and it would be better off for everyone if she died. I pray for peace for her all the time. One fortunate thing is that she has not had any pain (except for all the emotional pain, of course). Sorry this is going on & on...feel free to e-mail anytime.
Tami

Hi there,
My 43 year old brother was diagnosed with oligoastrocytoma six weeks ago. He was rushed into surgery where 95% of the tumour was able to be removed - the remaining 5% was around the corpus callossum vents and the risk to his fine motor skills were thought to be too great to remove the remaining portion. Post surgery he has recovered well - he had been suffering major depression for 5 years prior to diagnosis - which seems to have literally disappeared overnight when he had surgery, leading us to the conclusion the depression was caused by the tumour. At this stage we have no idea what his prognosis is. We're still waiting to see if he'll require chemo/radio or both or none at all. The results of the pathology came back as level two - hence "benign". Apparently "benign" doesn't really mean "benign" in this type of tumour.
His whole life has been turned upside down in an instant. The journey has begun. Would welcome any info anyone can share.
Bless you all as you deal with your own journeys...

The best advice I can give to some one when a loved one has a brain tumor is to be patient.
Give them the attention they need and always talk. They need not feel alone. My fiance lost his brave battle recently. His tumor grew stronger and stronger, his last tumor was a gliosarcoma.

Seek the advice from different sources try contacting the american brain tumor association for advice. God bless you

My husband was diagnosed with oligo astrocytoma in the right frontal temeperal lobe in Feb 2005. I have lots of information to give you and you can email me anytime at --- Message edited by CancerCompass staff: for personal protection, email address removed. Please review CancerCompass Member Guidelines at http://www.cancercompass.com/common/guidelines.html ----

I live in Ontario Canada. My husband is 45 yrs old It is inoperable and terminal. I did locate one site that is awesome for caregivers called

http://www.brainhospice.com/

http://www.caregiver.org/

http://www.cancersupportivecare.com/psychosocial.html

God Bless you and I hope these sites help you.

deb

Hi Lori-

My name is Laurie also. My husband's brother was JUST diagnosed this past week with a grade 3 OAC (just to keep the tumor's name short). We are still in the learning phase but I will say there is A LOT of basic info on the Internet. He has all the classic symptoms of seizures, memory loss and personality change. It will eventually affect his motor skills… he is an avid drummer. This tumor is on the right side of his brain and is too large to operate on until they shrink it with chemo (Temador) and radiation for the next month. From what we have been told, this type of tumor is most receptive to radiation. This brain tumor forms from both oligodendrocytes and astrocytes, which are types of glial cells (cells that hold nerve cells in place and help them work the way they should). If you want the truth…. I’m sorry to say, the mortality rate is from 2 – 5 yrs. In rare cases, 11- 20 depending on tumor grade. But miracles do happen.

Also keep in mind, traditonal methods are not the only method… though Dr.’s may say different. Not that I would recommend a pure holistic path in this case but rather as an addition to traditional methods. When your fighting this type of fight, hit it with everything you can. I have a friend with breast cancer who has taken a holistic path and is doing AMAZINGLY well. Make sure your brother eats cancer fighting foods… get him on a healthy diet. Look for supplements that do the same. Try looking for a Nuatopath (Prolotherapy) who can assist. Try to find a clinical social worker (LCSW) or psychologist that can help him practice hypnotherapy or visualization. Have him take a Yoga or meditation class that can help him learn breathing techniques. It will help reduce stress, discomfort and overcome nausea. This I can personally guarantee. Even have your brother to imagine that little sucker getting eaten up by a bunch of little pac-mans. Let the Dr’s heal from the outside but your brother has to do it from the inside. And remember, this tumor is not the enemy, it has been your brother’s tour guide to this journey. It has brought him here but it has now gotten sick. Your brother has to thank it for getting him to this healthy new way of life but he can take it from here now. Have him tell it that he is here to make it well so it can move on and leave him. Your brother is not sick, the tumor is. He runs it, not the other way around. He must remain in good health so he can be the pathway to heal the tumor. The tumor cannot make HIM well, he can only get IT well. Name it, talk to it, think it well……. It’s there, it’s real and a part of him. He can’t pretend it’s not there. So address and an get it on your side. Let it work with you, not against. Sounds quirky, I know. But the power of positive thinking and prayer can do amazing things. Your brother is going to have some tough days ahead….I pray we will never know this experience. Be strong, help him be strong. But IF the time does come where he needs to be at peace, respect whatever decisions be makes. Love never ends, it only changes energy.

…..And please, don’t roll your eyes at these suggestions and think I’m some tree-hugging hippy preaching love & peace. I’m your typical over-organized, high-stress, too long of a commute, 9 to 5er (or used to be some of these) who has come to know and appreciate alternative solutions.

Godbless and good luck.
In health,
Laurie P.