Of course, there were some anxious times waiting to hear the results of the CT scan, but fortunately, the wait would not be long. I spent a lot of time during this period on the Internet, trying to learn what I could about brain tumors, to the annoyance of my mother “Do you want to have a brain tumor?” she asked. I told her I was either going to have one or not have it, and I didn't think what I wanted or read on the internet would have much influence on the outcome, and that I felt better trying to get informed rather than sitting in ignorant fear. The more I learned, the better prepared I would be to ask questions of my doctor, I thought. So, on Wednesday afternoon, March 13th, my home telephone rang, and it was Dr. Fullington calling to inform me that my CT scan had revealed a mass, a type of brain tumor( there are over 100 different types) called a meningioma. My impression was that it wasn't very large. My brain tumor research kicked into another, faster gear, specific to meningiomas.
I learned that they arise from cells of the meninges, the thin membrane covering the brain and spinal cord. It is an extra-axial mass in that it occurs outside the central nervous system. It is not inside the brain matter itself. It is often referred to as the surgeon's friend because it is not inside the brain matter, and that makes it easier to remove without damaging or removing good brain tissue. The meningioma is relatively slow growing and is almost never cancerous. The tumor's primary damage is done by its compressing on the brain as it grows. In our conversation, Dr. Fullington suggested that I meet with a neurosurgeon and spoke well of the choices in my hometown. I had no doubt that the doctors were good, but I had always been given the impression that, other than maybe Duke Medical Center, the hospital in Greenville, NC was the best place for neurological disorders. My research would teach me that Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville had been named one of the top thirty hospitals for neurosurgery by the latest listing by the magazine U.S. News and World Report and told Dr. Fullington that if I required surgery, I wanted it to be in Greenville.
I told Dr. Fullington I would like an appointment with Dr. Ira Hardy. His nurse tried to get me such an appointment but was told by Dr. Hardy's office that he no longer did brain surgery, only spinal. They did however suggest that I see. Dr. K. Stuart Lee, saying that he was the man to see for brain tumor issues, so I gave the okay for them to make the appointment. My initial appointment with Dr. Lee was set for the morning of April 17th, 2002.
My Uncle Wiley volunteered to drive us over to Greenville. My wife and my mother would also accompany me on this first trip over to the neurosurgeon. I, again, had compiled a list of questions. I expected that he would want further imaging tests, most certainly an M.R. I. My wife, Sharon, had once seen a neurologist in Greenville who wanted her to have an M.R.I. and was able to arrange it for the same day she saw him. Not knowing if Dr. Lee would be able to arrange such quick turnaround but wanting to be prepared, we had arranged for my brother to pick my son up after school, in case we weren't able to be back in time.
My visit with Dr. Lee went very well, and I felt very comfortable with the decision to see a doctor in Greenville. I had a number of questions, foremost of which was if he agreed with the preliminary diagnosis that my tumor was a meningioma. This was very important because almost all meningiomas are non-cancerous. It's shocking enough to learn you have a brain tumor, but easier for me to handle than thinking of it as brain cancer. He told me what I already suspected: that it's difficult to tell without actually looking at a sample under the microscope. His primary concern was that the tumor seemed to be very close to the carotid artery, and he wanted me to have a CT angiogram, a special type of CT imaging that will better show the blood vessels in my brain. He also wanted me to have a MRI. Because of my size, there was some question if I could comfortably fit in a standard MRI machine. We drove over to the MRI facility so I could test this out. It was too tight, so the appointment was made instead at the facility in Wilson, which uses a different type of machine, one better suited for large people.
