Back to Banking on the Surgery Being the Cure

All along, until last Sunday, I had been firmly in the camp (BY MYSELF) of banking on the 2nd surgery being the cure, which it statistically probably should be.  However, after receiving a scary email from Jude’s oncologist summarizing the few case studies, in which they talk about trying to “salvage” the patient after ependymoma recurrence with radiation treatment, I was scared into the same camp with Andy and our oncologist and radiologist and agreed we’d go down the radiation road unless something the radiation doctor says when he talk with him later this week spooks me.  But, now I’m wavering.  Neurosurgeons don’t like radiation treatment to the brain of young children for the obvious reasons of impact to cognitive, fine and gross motor skills, and sensory function.  Oncologists like it because their job is to cure Jude of his ependymoma cancer and radiation would would increase the likelihood of a cure.  It would be someone else’s job to fix him from the side effects of the radiation.  And, of course radiation doctors like radiation.  It’s hard to know who to listen to.  I just don’t want to get this decision wrong!