That Time Jesus Healed My Tumor

I briefly mentioned a couple of months ago that I have had some more health issues come up. And I promised to update when I had some more information. Sorry it has taken so long, but there were a lot of doctors and tests to get through. Everything has come back, and I am just in awe of all that the Lord has done in 4 short months!

So just a little background on what has been going on...

In April, I had some blood work done after I had been experiencing some postpartum issues {completely unrelated to this and resolved separately}. It showed an elevated prolactin level {and I was no longer breastfeeding}, so my OB sent me for an MRI. At the time, I thought it was overkill, but my husband {who was right} made me go, because I didn't think I needed to :) 

The MRI showed that I had a pituitary macro adenoma, a large tumor on my pituitary gland {mine was 12mm}. Tumors sound scary. Tumors in your brain sound even scarier...and trust me I was scared! So the next 4 months were filled with appointments; I saw a neurosurgeon, an endocrinologist, and a neuro-opthamologist. I had multiple hormone and vision tests done. 

Along the way, I learned a few things about pituitary tumors: 

• They are not actually classified as brain tumors {the pituitary gland is at the base of your brain, behind your eyes}
• They don't really know what causes them; they're just abnormal growths. 
• 99% of these tumors are benign, so cancer was never part of the conversation.
• The concern is more for headaches, vision loss, and impaired pituitary function {which can cause other major health problems}.
• Prolactinomas {prolactin-producing tumors} can be treated with medication; non-functioning pituitary adenomas are usually treated with surgery.

Thankfully, all of my testing came back normal; I wasn't experiencing any vision loss and/or underlying hormonal issues. I also learned that mine was not a prolactinoma, so medication was not an option to treat it. My elevated prolactin level could have been from the tumor pressing on my pituitary gland {stalk effect}. I was sent back to the neurosurgeon to discuss next steps.

I had a repeat MRI a few weeks ago to check the status of the tumor. Because all of my hormone and vision levels came back normal, I was gearing up for a conversation about surgery. These tumor are usually slow growing, but we didn't want my headaches to increase or my vision to be affected. I had done my research, and Mike and I were preparing for what recovery would look like {with 2 babies}. I had already made my peace with what the Lord had laid before us, and really was just ready to get the surgery date set and done.

So when the neurosurgeon walked in and said, "you are fine; this is nothing," I was shocked. And a little confused. This was not the conversation I was expecting, the conversation for which I had prepared. He said that the MRI was showing that the tumor was only 2 to 3mm and looked more like a cyst at this point. He said there was no need for surgery, and he wouldn't expect there ever to be a need for surgery. He was not worried in the slightest and told me that I shouldn't worry either. He wants me to have another MRI in a year, just to check on it again, but there was no need to take any action right now.

So I had a large tumor at the base of my brain 4 months ago...and now I don't.

The neurosurgeon went on with a lot of medical speak for why it might be a small one now, or it might not be a tumor at all, but none of it mattered. Because I know that my God healed it. I shouldn't have been surprised by this, but admittedly, I was. To be honest, I hadn't even really asked Him to heal it. Others had, and I am so grateful for their faithful prayers. Instead, I had just prayed for wisdom and strength to face this new health issue. It was just the next in a long line of health issues I expect in my lifetime. 

I never had any doubt that God could heal the tumor; I absolutely believe He has the power to do that. I just never thought He would. You see, for so long, I have prayed for God to heal my health issues {Crohn's, endometriosis, infertility, etc}, and His answers up to this point have always been "no" or "I have a different plan for you." I have processed through that with Him, and I am learning to trust that He is good, despite not receiving the answers I want. And I often daydream about the day when my body will be healed and whole. 

But somewhere along the way, I had just forgotten that sometimes He says "yes" and actually performs the unbelievable and allows us to experience the impossible. How great is our God??

If this post had been an update on the size of my tumor and how I was heading to surgery, He would still be worthy of all praise. He would still be God, He would still be good, and He would still deserve all the glory. But because I have personally experienced and witnessed the healing of a tumor, I will sing praises for my God as Healer. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Repeat MRI

Today I had a repeat MRI. There was a miscommunication and scheduling error, so I had to go to Frisco for this one. This is the third MRI I have had in my life, and of all the medical procedures I have faced, this one is pretty simple. The worst part is the needle prick {which I hardly feel now} for the saline and contrast. Otherwise, it's kind of nice to have 45 minutes of calm. The machine is loud, and I didn't get music at this imaging center, but I just closed my eyes and prayed.

I have to admit that I have really struggled with feeling anxious about this tumor. There are so many good aspects of this process so far, but I am just so weary of health issues. It's more the thought of surgery and recovery. What will that look like? How long will recovery be? Will I be able to pick up my babies? I know the Lord will provide, as He always does...it's just a daily battle. Just trying to be honest with where I am right now.

When I got home from my MRI, Mike presented me with flowers, brownies, and a Sonic drink. He knows the keys to my heart :)

I'll meet with the neurosurgeon on August 17 to discuss the results of the MRI and next steps.

Follow Up with Endocrinologist

Today I had my follow up with the endocrinologist to discuss the results from my lab work. All of my initial labs came back normal. I don't seem to have any problems with my hormones, and my prolactin level was actually in the normal range again {good news!}. So she was able to confirm that it is not a hormone-producing tumor. Basically that means that the tumor is probably just pressing against my pituitary gland, causing my prolactin production to increase {the tumor itself is not producing prolactin}. Because of this, medication is not the appropriate course of treatment. 

So she is sending me back to the neurosurgeon to see what he wants to do next {which will probably mean surgery}. I am glad that the treatment seems to be clear cut, and I don't have to make a decision between medication and surgery...the decision was made for me! 

She had me repeat blood work to measure my prolactin level again, as well as do a 24 hour urine test and a saliva test to check my cortisol levels {fun!}. She didn't believe they would show anything {based on previous lab work}, but wanted to round out all the prolactin testing. This time, my prolactin level was elevated, so she recommended that I take the medication for now. Which is completely confusing to me, so I have made the decision not to do that for now. I don't make it a habit of refusing a doctor's recommendation, but the neurosurgeon didn't want me to take it from the beginning, and even the endocrinologist originally said that medication wasn't the best course of treatment. So I'm holding off on that for now...

My cortisol levels came back fine too, so it was just confirmation that there aren't any other underlying health issues surrounding the tumor.

So what's next? I go back for a repeat MRI to see if the size of the tumor has changed, and then discuss surgery with the neurosurgeon.

Specialists :: Endocrinology + Neuro-Opthamology

Today I had my appointments with both the endocrinologist and the neuro-opthamologist. I just wanted to record a quick update from today. I actually have more questions than answers from today, but at least we have the process started to hopefully start getting some answers in the near future.

Endocrinology

The endocrinologist asked a lot of questions and really tried to get a solid understanding of my health history. She seemed to want to truly understand what caused the tumor to grow in the first place, which is a good thing. She did a sonogram on my thyroid, and that looked fine. She is sending me to have labs done, and I will meet with her in another few weeks to learn the results of those tests. She obviously couldn't provide solid answers without getting those tests back, but she did throw out a few ideas:

• It's possible that my attempts at breastfeeding could have caused the tumor to grow {since my prolactin levels have been affected, and prolactin levels rise when you breastfeed}
• She does not believe that the medications I took for our frozen embryo transfers {estrogen and progesterone} could have caused it
• She believes it could be treated with medication, which would help it shrink {the neurosurgeon had told me not to take medication because he said that it makes the tumor more fibrous and more difficult to remove...so I will have to do some more research and find some more answers on that}

Neuro-Opthamology

The neuro-opthamologist checked my visual fields and all seemed to look fine. He was able to confirm {like we already suspected, since I haven't had any problems with my vision} that the tumor is not pressing on my optic nerve at this time {good news}. The concern is that it could press on my optic nerve, causing me to begin losing my peripheral vision. Even though everything looked good now, I will have to get my visual fields tested again in another 3 months to make sure that's still the case. 

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So...now we wait for more answers. I have recently started having more frequent headaches. At first I ignored them, because I thought I was just being paranoid and that it was just a coincidence {you tell me that a tumor could cause them, and then all of a sudden I'm getting them...}. But they have been pretty frequent {several per week}, and they can be pretty intense. So I can't ignore this. Not that an MRI showing a 12mm tumor near my brain isn't enough, but there's always that hope of it just shrinking on its own...wishful thinking.

There is still the risk that this will affect our future embryo transfers, which right now is my biggest concern. I cannot be on the tumor-shrinking medication when I'm pregnant. So I will have to find out what taking medication would look like, how long before the tumor shrinks {the neuro-opthamologist mentioned 2 years}, etc. If I have surgery to remove the tumor, I have to wait 6 months to 1 year before we can attempt another transfer. But I also can't just leave it alone and let it grow, because I can't risk losing my vision. So there's that. 

I am praying that the test results come back with some more answers on something hormonally that could be out of balance that caused the tumor to grow. Because then I feel like we can treat that imbalance. I am really struggling with all the "what if's" right now, and I am having to work on trusting the Lord with all of those details. He wasn't surprised by this tumor, and He knows we still have 2 more embryos waiting for us. I have to stop trying to control every aspect of this process and just trust that His timing is perfect...even if it doesn't look like it to me right now.

Meet Tumorthy

Today I had my first consult with the neurosurgeon regarding the tumor they found on the MRI. It wasn't bad news, but it wasn't great news, either. Well, at least it wasn't the great news I wanted to hear {"you're healed! there's no tumor!"} It was a stretch, but a girl can hope {and pray!}  :)

Quick recap...Routine blood work came back with elevated prolactin levels. I was sent for an MRI, which showed a pituitary macro adenoma {large tumor on the pituitary gland}. So I was referred to a neurosurgeon.

When I found out about the tumor after the MRI, I asked Mike if it would be weird for me to name my tumor. Don't ask me why I wanted to do this, I just did. We were throwing around ideas, and I thought of Tim the Tumor, and Mike said Tumorthy {like Timothy}...and a name was born. Forgive our strange sense of humor, but when you have crazy health problems, you have to find ways to laugh about them. 

So meet Tumorthy :)

Plump little bugger

The Good News: 

• I am not showing any symptoms {problems with headaches or vision, hormonal issues, etc}. We found it as a result of blood work, and not through any specific complications.
• 99% of these types of tumors are benign. It is most likely NOT a prolactinoma, which means it is not secreting prolactin itself. It's just causing more prolactin to be secreted.
• It's not pressing on anything {like my optic nerve, which is the main concern for my vision}. I have a "beautifully clear" sinus cavity, which would make for an easier removal. 
• He's not sending me to surgery tomorrow. There's still a chance the tumor could shrink.
• Surgical removal would mean going through my nose, so they wouldn't have to shave my head :)

The Bad News: 

• The tumor is large {his word was "plump" LOL}. It's considered a macro adenoma because it is over 10mm {mine is 12mm}.
• I could start experiencing symptoms at any time, especially if the tumor continues to grow.
• It might be a result of pregnancy, and possibly made worse with the hormones I had to take for our embryo transfers. We knew there could be risks, but infertility SUCKS, y'all. Nothing can just be simple, and that's so frustrating.
• If the tumor doesn't shrink {just naturally, the further away I get from pregnancy/delivery}, it will have to come out. And we would have to wait 6 months to a year before we attempted another embryo transfer {not our original plan}.

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So what's next? I have to go see a neuro-opthamologist {seen one of those before!} to have my visual fields tested. I also have to go see an endocrinologist {that's kind of a new one...my RE doesn't count for this} to have my hormone levels checked. Basically, he wants to be sure I don't have any other underlying issues, or something else that could be causing the tumor. If those tests come back clear, then I will do a repeat MRI in August {to see if the tumor has grown}, and we will make decisions on surgery from there. 

The hope is that the further I get from pregnancy/delivery, the more my hormones will naturally regulate, which in turn might cause the tumor to shrink. If it doesn't, then I will be scheduling a surgery to remove it. And in turn, pushing off our plans for another embryo transfer. At the end of the day, we will do what needs to be done. It's just hard to be facing yet another health issue, and it is disappointing that our plans for our family are constantly being put on hold. Even now.

So our prayer is that the upcoming tests come back normal, that Tumorthy is part of the 99% that is non-cancerous and shrinks before August, and that we don't have to delay our embryo transfers. Our God is able and can absolutely heal this tumor. But even if He doesn't, we know He is good and will be with us in whatever comes.

Unexpected Test Results

So I had been struggling with a few postpartum issues, so I went in to see my OB. Everything ended up checking out fine on that end, but when she got the blood work back, my prolactin levels were high again. This had come up before, but my RE had just given me medication and we proceeded with our transfers. Apparently my levels were high enough to warrant an MRI.

I really didn't think it was a big deal and that the MRI was a bit of overkill. Mainly because I wasn't having any symptoms related to high prolactin levels. But Mike convinced me it wouldn't hurt to just have it done to put everyone's mind at ease. He's always right :)

I went in, and it was no big deal. I have had an MRI before, so it was actually relaxing to have about 45 minutes to myself, enjoying some praise and worship music. I left thinking my insurance company just paid a lot of money {I have already met my deductible for the year} for nothing.

Well, today I got a call with my results, and it was definitely not what I expected. They found a pituitary macroadenoma. Basically, a tumor on my pituitary gland. And it's large enough {macro} that I need to go see a neurosurgeon to figure out what's next. 

Any time the word "tumor" is thrown around, that's scary. Especially if it's a brain tumor. The good news is that, again, I am not having any symptoms from it. I mean, fatigue is on the list, but I have Crohn's Disease and 5.5 month old twins...of course I'm tired :)  I do get migraines every now and then, but they are not constant, and I can usually get rid of it with some tylenol and rest. So other than that, I am not having any problems with my vision or hormones. 

So while it sounds really scary, it's likely that it is not that bad. 99% of these types of tumors are non cancerous, and are easily treatable. I'm hoping for the medication route, but I may have to have surgery. When I go to see the neurosurgeon, we will have a better idea of what's ahead. 

So there's that. Sigh. Just add it to the list of health issues I constantly have to deal with. Y'all, my body is falling apart! Ugh.