Benign

I have had two brain tumors. Both different.  One was called a meningioma, the other an osseous hemangioma.

I had surgery for the meningioma in 2014.  The meningioma was a tumor that was growing into my brain.  It was not malignant, which means it was not cancerous.

The hemangioma, which was removed in November 2017, was a tumor growing into my skull.   It too was considered benign, or not cancerous.

I know neither tumor was considered malignant.  I was "lucky" not to have cancer.  I don't think having a brain tumor is lucky however.  I had complications after both surgeries.   However, I do not think that there is such a thing as a "good" brain tumor.

I am going to put some pictures of my post 2017 skull surgery here.  These are MRI images.  In the front area of my skull, there are star shaped things that are the clamps that hold my skull together where it was cut to remove the meningioma.   Behind that there is a big "hole" space where the piece of skull with the tumor growing in it was removed.  An implant was put into that space and it is held into place with a variety of clips and clamps.

So, this is how my head looks after having two benign tumors removed.