Initial Meeting with Dr. Lang

On Wednesday, December 19th we met with Dr. Lang and were amazed with what a great surgeon and man he is. He took the time to answer all of our questions, and believe us we had plenty. He explained each and every part of the brain in detail and then spoke with us about the surgery that he thought should be performed. Travis’ tumor is located on the right side of the brain which in his opinion is encouraging. The right side of the brain controls all of your gross motor movements, specifically on the left side of your body. The tumor is large, Dr. Lang thinks that it has been growing for over two years. He spoke very eloquently about what type of tumor it was, but in lamens terms it is a tumor that has developed in the brain and on a scale of 1-4 (1-benign and 4- aggressive malignant) it looks to be a Level 2 tumor. A biopsy would further determine and confirm the level of the tumor. After speaking with Dr. Lang we made a decision that we would pursue surgery and a biopsy of the tumor. Travis turned 30 this year and leaving this tumor to grow would definitely endanger his life. We have much respect and faith in Dr. Lang’s skill as a surgeon. He has encouraged us by saying that he will only be as aggressive in removing the tumor as he feels necessary. He wants Travis to have a rich quality of life after the surgery and so he is planning to be cautious when removing the tumor itself. Travis will be awake for parts of the surgery so that Dr. Lang can make sure that his quality of life is not compromised. It has been explained to us that the procedure of removing the tumor is like taking furniture out of a jail cell without removing the bars. There is an artery that is running directly in front of the tumor and off of that artery or veins are blood vessels. Dr. Lang will have to use his best judgement when removing the tumor from behind these “bars”. After a week of seizures during the night Travis is now at a therapeutic level while taking a seizure controlling medicine called Dilantin. It is a praise that we can now have restful nights of sleep.