Our shocking discovery...(December 18, 2010)

As many of you know, Stefan has had some health issues the last year.  He has been consistently tired, and would on occasion have trouble finding words.  We saw the doctor on numerous occasions with the possibilities of stress/depression/anxiety.  He had a swollen lymph node in the summer – which was followed up by a run of blood tests – with no inclination that anything was wrong.

The last month he started to have some vision problems (fuzzy spots), as well as a couple dizzy spells.  This prompted another doctor’s appointment on November 28^th which resulted in a MRI referral and some sleeping pills.  They called Monday (the 13^th) as they had a MRI opening Friday (17^th) at 2:30pm.  If he didn’t take this one, it could be a year before getting in.

At 2:30 pm Stefan had an MRI at Burnaby General Hospital.  They discovered an 8x5 cm tumour in his brain.  By 8:45 pm, he was transferred to Royal Columbian and in the operating room.  The Tumour is in his dominant hemisphere, and has put pressure on the brain, causing the brain to shift 1 cm – turning this into a life-threatening situation. (later discussion with nurses – they were amazed he didn’t have stronger symptoms – in particular with his speech).   The surgery  (2.5 hours) was to alleviate pressure, see what the Tumour was, and remove what they could.  They couldn’t remove it all without affecting the part of his brain that controls his speech and the movement of the right side of his body.  We were told the Tumour is Astrocytoma, probably a grade 2. 

We are currently awaiting results on the exact prognoses of the tumour.  We will have a meeting at the Vancouver cancer clinic to discuss the next steps (radiation and chemo). 

Stefan is recovering very well from his surgery (impressing everyone).  His appetite and sense of humour are back in full form!  We are staying positive and will take this one step at a time.  We have a great support system of family and friends – and know we will need it in our path ahead.