deja vu

Mark had the functional mri and brain lab mri scans last Friday.  Today we met with Dr. Liau to review the results. The mapping scan shows that the new area is just in front of resection of the old spot.  In the test they mapped the language, motor and sensory areas.  The new tumor does go into sensory area of hand, and Dr. Liau was really surprised that Mark wasn't already showing any symptoms of numbness on  his right hand? She suspects that other parts of his brain may be compensating.  The mapping showed that the new tumor doesn't seem to be too close to the comprehension or language areas.  She said she can surgically remove the tumor, but there is risk of numbness in his hand and possibly weakness. Surgery is a good option because then we'll be able to get it out to help slow down growth, we'd know what it was (scar vs tumor) and would have tissue. There are recurrent trials that can use tissue if we take it out and there is also a gene therapy trial Mark could be eligible for.  Because it has been long enough, radiation can still happen after surgery if needed or instead of surgery.  Some swelling does show in the scans so it will be good to make a decision before it affects in other ways.  Most likely it is tumor instead of scar tissue because of the length of time it has been since the original surgery. A biopsy to find out would be just as risky, so it is better to go for surgery.  This time surgery would be done while Mark was awake. She could also go through the same incision and even smooth out the scar some!  Mark is opting for surgery.  We have a language eval scheduled  on 2/24 @ 11am and surgery will be  3/5.  We still need to schedule the primary doc for surgery clearance (ekg etc) and are getting a blood test today.  We had to sign a lot of papers, but looks like we'll be headed to surgery early next month!