I was the idiot that said, “Oh it’s benign? Thank God it’s not cancer!”. Helpful? No. Did it occur to me that maybe benign doesn’t always mean safer…easy…better…kind? No. Did it occur to you? Probably not. Unless you were the one sitting in the chair getting told your results by a concerned doctor.
Guess what? There is not a cure for cancer, but there is not a cure for many types of benign brain tumors either. For many, the only treatment option is surgery. Cerebral Cavernous Malformations are one type of vascular brain tumor for which surgery is the only cure. This is the kind that Riley has had, two separate times. We know the dangers of brain surgery… How many of us would elect to have our head cut open? I understood there was a risk with brain surgery, but it wasn’t real to me until I met Riley (see her story here). It didn’t register how life altering a benign brain tumor, and the subsequent surgery to remove it, would be.
There is not a cure for many types of benign brain tumors either. For many, the only treatment option is surgery.
Our brain controls our basic bodily functions. It is the storehouse of our thinking, memory, behavior, movement, hearing, learning, feeling, breathing. It controls our ability to communicate with others, our ability to see, our ability to balance, to walk, to dance. Imagine a mass in any of our lobes. Imagine if you had a benign brain tumor. A mass inside your BRAIN. You can lose control of basic bodily functions, you can lose yourself. Still seem “gentle”? “Mild”? “Merciful”? “Kind”? These are synonyms of “benign”. We can see why this is a difficult concept to grasp…
Being a part of Be Brave for Life has changed my understanding, and frankly, my life!
I have never been one to say the right thing at the right time. I’ve tried to read self-help books, even attended a training session. I still put my foot in it sometimes. The point is learning from others’ experience and from each others’ mistakes can help us be more aware. I didn’t understand what “benign” meant. I did not have a clear view of the dangers and impacts of this diagnosis. Being a part of Be Brave for Life has changed my understanding, and frankly, my life (stay tuned for a blog on how).
We have a goal to raise awareness, to correct the misconception that a benign brain tumor “isn’t so bad”. (Read more here.) We have a goal to raise money to support new and current research that will provide for other treatment options other than surgery! (For more info: click here.) Join us in this endeavor! Take the Be Brave for Life Challenge!