More details about Julie's tumor
After Julie's biopsy a year and a half ago, we learned that Julie has an Anaplastic Astrocytoma. I've learned recently that her astrocytoma has a gliomatosis cerebri growth pattern. They might have known about that from the start, but it's new to me. Either one of these have a grim prognosis, and Julie has both. Some of you who have not had a chance to talk to her wonder what I mean when I try to explain how it is difficult for her to communicate. People who suffer from strokes that damage the left side of the brain often develop aphasia. Julie didn't have a stroke, but her tumor has the same effect. She is also blind on the right side of both eyes, a condition known as Homonymous hemianopsia
The types of aphasia that most closely describe Julie's language deficit to me are Nominal Aphasia and Broca's Aphasia. Over the past few months, we have noticed Julie's aphasia symptoms increase. It's such a gradual increase that it is hard to notice, but it is happening. The terms Anaplastic Astrocytoma, Gliomatosis Cerebri, Homonymous hemianopsia, and Aphasia don't help a whole lot unless you know what they mean. Here's a list of pages related to each term that I've found helpful:
Astrocytoma
Gliomatosis Cerebri
Aphasia
Homonymous hemianopsia
I've wanted to put this information together in one place for myself, and figured I might as well make it available to everyone since I'm going through the effort anyway. I hope a few of you will take the time to at least skim these references. They are generally short, concise, and informative – which is why I chose them.
- brasto's blog
- Add new comment
- 644 reads