Vim & Vigor - Winter 2008 - (Page 5)

perfect the photograph by dan sidor photography frame new technology targets brain tumors by carla carwile G ranby gallery owner Corinne Lively was removing discontinued items from her mat board inventory when her knowledge of numbers vanished. Sequencing the multi-colored corner samples was suddenly impossible. “It was a weird sensation,” Lively says. “I wasn’t dizzy, but something just wasn’t right. “Then I realized I couldn’t label anything. I knew what the ceiling and floor were—how they were built and what they did—but I couldn’t name them,” she says. The incident lasted less than 10 minutes and did not recur, but the 56-year-old Lively sensed medical attention was in order. She visited St. Anthony Granby Medical Center. it rechecked in a year,” Lively says, “and I did.” The follow-up MRI showed the tumor had grown over the course of the year and was now approximately 1 inch by 1 ½ inches in size. Lively and her husband, Dave, met with A. Stewart Levy, M.D., of Intermountain Neurosurgery and Neuroscience in Denver to discuss treatment. Levy told the couple that Lively’s initial incident was most likely a small focal seizure caused by the tumor. He described the seizure as “a little electrical storm in that part of her brain.” He also explained that the tumor’s location—immediately adjacent to a major brain blood vessel called smart move “They described what had happened as a word-finding seizure,” Lively says. “They said I might have had a TIA [transient ischemic attack, called a ‘warning stroke’ by the American Heart Association] so they ordered a carotid artery ultrasound and a brain study.” The brain MRI showed a benign meningioma (see sidebar). “The doctor said it had probably been there for a while and that I should have more about meningiomas Meningiomas are brain tumors originating in the meninges, the protective tissue covering the brain and spine. They account for about one in every four brain and spinal tumors, and up to 85 percent are benign. While meningiomas can occur at any age, the incidence increases significantly in people over age 65. Women are twice as likely as men to have meningiomas. Typically, these tumors grow very slowly and may produce no symptoms. The decision to intervene surgically or to closely monitor the tumor depends on the age of the individual and the location/progression of the meningioma. vim & vigor • wi nter 2008 5

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Winter 2008

Vim & Vigor - Winter 2008 Contents Friendly Faces For Your Health 'Tis the Season to be Safe Eat Your Veggies Joint Effort Fresh Beginnings Decades of Opportunity Keeping Score Your Big Give Roll Up Your Sleeve Tidings of Comfort and Health Blueprint for Safety The Smoke-Free Mom-to-Be Childbirth Trends Moms Choosing Midwives Community Sections Dollars & Sense Ask the Experts

Vim & Vigor - Winter 2008

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