Hi Melanie - No, No, No. You're not going to be removed from the forum. Unless you want to be by starting your own forum as an ASK or as a SHARE. Your posts would get more attention that way than within this thread, but you are welcome to be where YOU are the most comfortable.
It's never, ever easy to get the kind of news that you got today. And the way that surgeons give you the full scope of risks can be overwhelming, but they have to tell you the absolute worst that can happen. If you can find out how the average case turns out it would likely be more reassuring.
I once had a scary situation with a dermoid ovarian cyst. There were no symptoms, it was found because of an x-ray done after an auto accident. When I met with the gynecologic surgeon it was at a point somewhat like your cyst, where there was no choice but to have surgery and there were a lot of risks. I well remember how frightening that experience was. I was informed on a Friday that it was in danger of immediate rupture which would likely kill me and that I needed to be in surgery asap but I had to make arrangements to leave work before I could schedule the surgery. What helped me to get through that was knowing that I was on the way to getting excellent medical care to deal with the problem and being grateful that it was found before the cyst had had a chance to cause a life-threatening situation. I'm not trying to tell you how to think, but I do empathize with what you're going through and hope my thoughts can help to bring you some comfort.
Melanie, do you have family members or friends or a spiritual advisor who can help you as you go through this? Might your surgeon know of a local support group that can assist you? Is there something we can do at EmpowHer to help you?
St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California is a highly respected hospital and their Brain Tumor Center routinely deals with epidermoid cyst removal. Their website has a lot of information about the diagnosis and preparing for surgery.
The American Brain Tumor Association is a good source for information and support. If you do a search for epidermoid cyst on their website you will be able to get a comprehensive paper in PDF format about your type of cyst.
http://www.abta.org/
The ABTA also offers support by phone and email. ABTA Information Specialists are available with live help between 8:30 am - 5:00 pm Monday through Friday, central time. Call the toll free number at 800-886-2282. Or, you can send an e-mail request to [email protected].
Let me know if this is helpful to you, and if you need anything else. Please stay in touch and let us know how you're doing. Above all, take good care of yourself. You will make it through this!
Pat
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Hi Melanie - No, No, No. You're not going to be removed from the forum. Unless you want to be by starting your own forum as an ASK or as a SHARE. Your posts would get more attention that way than within this thread, but you are welcome to be where YOU are the most comfortable.
It's never, ever easy to get the kind of news that you got today. And the way that surgeons give you the full scope of risks can be overwhelming, but they have to tell you the absolute worst that can happen. If you can find out how the average case turns out it would likely be more reassuring.
I once had a scary situation with a dermoid ovarian cyst. There were no symptoms, it was found because of an x-ray done after an auto accident. When I met with the gynecologic surgeon it was at a point somewhat like your cyst, where there was no choice but to have surgery and there were a lot of risks. I well remember how frightening that experience was. I was informed on a Friday that it was in danger of immediate rupture which would likely kill me and that I needed to be in surgery asap but I had to make arrangements to leave work before I could schedule the surgery. What helped me to get through that was knowing that I was on the way to getting excellent medical care to deal with the problem and being grateful that it was found before the cyst had had a chance to cause a life-threatening situation. I'm not trying to tell you how to think, but I do empathize with what you're going through and hope my thoughts can help to bring you some comfort.
Melanie, do you have family members or friends or a spiritual advisor who can help you as you go through this? Might your surgeon know of a local support group that can assist you? Is there something we can do at EmpowHer to help you?
St. John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California is a highly respected hospital and their Brain Tumor Center routinely deals with epidermoid cyst removal. Their website has a lot of information about the diagnosis and preparing for surgery.
http://www.brain-tumor.org/76_Epidermoid_cyst.html
The American Brain Tumor Association is a good source for information and support. If you do a search for epidermoid cyst on their website you will be able to get a comprehensive paper in PDF format about your type of cyst.
http://www.abta.org/
The ABTA also offers support by phone and email. ABTA Information Specialists are available with live help between 8:30 am - 5:00 pm Monday through Friday, central time. Call the toll free number at 800-886-2282. Or, you can send an e-mail request to [email protected].
Let me know if this is helpful to you, and if you need anything else. Please stay in touch and let us know how you're doing. Above all, take good care of yourself. You will make it through this!
January 14, 2010 - 6:07pmPat
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