Dear Salvatore. I am sitting in a small town east to Toronto, Ontario Canada. I was just watching the news and heard about your website, I had to look it up as I was diagnosed with a brain tumour March 3, 2010. I have worked as a registered nurse for 30 years and feel quite betrayed as I am usually the person on the other side helping the patients, which I much prefer, I have not really enjoyed being the patient but I must say I have a phenomenal, kind, compassionate neurosurgeon in Toronto, and have met and been cared for by some amazing individuals, my post op nurse in the Neuro ICU made me very proud of my profession, Elaine made the worst night of my life tolerable with her efficient care and outstanding knowledge . I was diagnosed with a stage 2 Oligodendroglioma in my right frontal- parietal lobe,the bulk of the tumour was resected, the posterior portion remains as it was sitting on the motor strip of my brain that controls the left side of my body, oncology watches it. I was 52 when they made the diagnosis, apparently a little old to have this, ? A late bloomer? Every 6 mos I have a MRI, so far so good, everything is stable and I am happy to say that I have continued to live a happy, normal lifestyle since this all began, I am so grateful for the fantastic care I have received up til now. But to tell you the truth I do not know if I have come to grips with understanding my diagnosis, I have become more aware of how I treat my body, I strive to eat properly, less processed foods, more antioxidants etc I exercise daily as I enjoy to, so I do, sometimes I get very sad, but I love to laugh so I am always searching for ways to do that. Try to avoid stress. I have no idea what the future holds, but no one else does either, but I feel I have been given a ‘heads up’ (pardon the pun) I strive to enjoy each and every day, I have reprioritized many things, the diagnosis of a brain tumour gives you the right to change your ideals and values, basically it is a gift, as no one questions your decisions , but when it comes right down to it we should all be living this way, no one know as what the next 5 minutes holds, but we have been given the opportunity to re-evaluate what is and isn’t important to us. my family is the best and most important to me! My husband, son and daughter have taken wonderful care of me, it frightened my son a bit and he prefers to care from a distance, but he still cares, my daughter takes the hands on approach and doesn’t let me get away with anything, she keeps me in tune with proper nutrition and exercise, I wanted to see her settled and happy before I am no longer aware of what is going on, but you can’t rush that, I know that she won’t settle until she is truly happy, so I am good with that, my son is getting married in June I hope I will stay healthy for his wedding day, I would love to be around to see grandchildren, he will be an awesome Dad, my husband has shown him how to do that. This has turned into more of a journal entry for me than a letter for you, sorry about that. Just wanted to wish you the best, have faith in your healthcare team, they will do their best for you,stay positive, and always strive to see the good in all things, you will be ok, it’s a little lonely having a brain tumour because not many of your friends have been through it, so that is why I wrote you, it’s nice to have a ‘brain tumour’ friend and you have grabbed the controls , I admire that! All the best.
