More good news, bad news, good news!

OK - so on Friday, I went to San Diego Cyberknife and followed up with the consult with a doctor there that my SD neuro-doc referred me to. Sharp denied this referral so I just paid the $$ to go. I wanted to just follow up with his recommendations (I thought this will be good for my appeal) AND I can always get more info from another doctor. As I have said before, sometimes if you have to pay - just do it....the info might be 'gold' to you and it certainly was for me!!!

Good news - This doctor I saw at SD Cyberknife was amazing. Took about 1 1/2 hrs with me to go over my MRI, an exam, his opinion, etc.... He told me that Cyberknife is the 'standard of care' for treatment for 'my' tumor. He said that it's hard for an insurance co. or state to deny you treatment when something is considered the 'standard of care.' He said that they have had like a 90% success rate with appeals and his report today will reflect his opinions. OMG!!!! This is gold to me! He also said he had a clinical study he will give me (that is ONLY on MY type of tumor - I could NOT find one like this for the life of me!). This will also be gold to me! :) I was really excited after I met with him and felt really comfortable him too.

Bad news - The doctor at Cyberknife mentioned that although 7% seems like a 'small' increase, it isn't for 'my' type of tumor. They typically 'hardly' grow at all so 7% in 5 months, in his opinion, is still a lot. So, he said treatment should still start asap. He also described to me in length about my tumor (which runs along my 7th intracranial nerve) and that my 'facial' nerve is like the diameter of a single hair - WOW?! That is really small. That's why Cyberknife is SO important (for accuracy and precision because of the area 'around' my facial nerve, ie: hearing center, brainstem, temporal lobe). He also said they are doing a study right now that is focusing on 'hearing preservation' - which is exactly what I need. So, it scared me a little knowing some of this and I still need to push for getting this done as soon as I can.

Good news - This doctors report AND the ENT doctor I saw the other day will both reflect the necessity for Cyberknife. This now gives me a total of 6 doctors (out of 8) that recommend this treatment. Also, the cost for Cyberknife in SD is somewhat less than Stanford (instead of buying a 'house', it's more like buying a very expensive car - MUCH more affordable).

So, the light at the end of my tunnel is getting bigger and I was really happy that I made that consult with the SD Cyberknife doc. All in all, it was a GOOD Friday! :) Appeal to the state should be sent off next week (mid-week). Can't wait!!

Today's Daily Affirmation:

"A clear vision, backed by definite plans, gives you a tremendous feeling of confidence and personal power." - Brian Tracey

This is so true....the more info I got, the 'clearer' my vision was of what my plan should be. I am a little afraid to say that I feel very confident in what is to come because you 'never know' but I am feeling pretty good about it. Hard work DOES pay off and I do have to say that all my hard work has somewhat empowered me to feel good about all of this. I am thinking right now that 2010 is going to be a great year!!

Have a great weekend! :)

Rachelle