Quote Originally Posted by Karen View Post
That's not necessarily true. It very much depends on the kind of brain tumor. Sen. Kennedy is, right now, in the hospital where I had my brain tumor removed. In my case it was not malignant, but I have friends who had malignant brain tumors removed. Of the five of us that belonged at one time to my church, four are still alive, and the one who recently died lived to see his sons grow up, start their careers and got to know his two grandsons. When we first met, it was about 20 years ago, and he had just had his first brain tumor removed. So 20 years is long-term by most standards.

Karen, 20 years survival after surgery for a malignant brain tumor is a miracle!!

You are correct about the type of tumor - I addressed that in my response to Laura's Babies. Different cell types mean different treatment options and different outcomes. But overall, the prognosis for a malignancy in the brain is not good. Part of the problem is the location. Inside the brain, space is very limited, there is no place to spread out.

I'm curious, did you have a pituitary tumor?