Leading up to the surgery, we visited Pre-Op, where we met with a nurse who had assisted my neurosurgeon for nearly 10 years. She spoke very highly of him and his team, which was very reassuring. Just as my doctor had said it would, the actual surgery took three hours. When I awoke, I had my own nurse assigned to me, and she took calls from my wife during the early hours of the morning. After spending 24 hours in the ICU, I was taken to a “regular” hospital room. On the second day post-op, my neurosurgeon told me I would go home the following day. It was hard to believe that after having an operation on my head, I was able to leave the hospital within three days.
When I met with a team of doctors 10 days later, it was recommended that I start a regimen of radiation and chemo. Except for having to experiment with several anti-seizure medications before finding one that didn’t cause any side effects, I’ve been tolerating my drugs without too much difficulty.
Two weeks after surgery, I visited the lab I work in at MIT and told them I would be back on a part-time basis once my radiation treatments started. (I am now halfway through.) I am definitely a people person, and I enjoy seeing my colleagues and having the students and professors come into the lab each day. I find my time spent at the lab is healing.
My family and friends are amazed at my strength and stamina. I find keeping busy and resuming my normal routine as quickly as possible has helped me do so well after surgery. I do get tired, but find that I sleep much better at night when I’ve put in a full day of activities. Of course, I wish my treatments were behind me, but by keeping busy, time is passing quickly. I am thankful for my team of doctors, nurses and technicians at Lahey..."
~Roy Talanian, brain cancer patient, speaking about when he discovered he had cancer and the subsequent treatment he’s been receiving at Lahey Clinic.
