Acromegaly: The only option

After my diagnosis, I met with several specialists to discuss my condition. All were of the same mind and agreed that surgery was the best treatment and needed to occur to a) normalize my growth hormone (GH) levels, b) relieve any pressure on the surrounding brain tissue and c) preserve the pituitary functions (which I now understand is responsible for keeping the delicate balance of chemicals within my body). Absent were any other options, including drugs, radiation, or even the option of not doing anything at all. Given the lack of negative symptoms common among other acromegaly patients, it seemed to me that doing nothing or taking a wait-and-see approach was at least something to consider. The questions in my mind were: What if the tumor had stopped growing? What if all the damage that it was going to do was already done? Is surgery really treatment? What about the risks? It reminded me of an observation I made when my son was only 3 years old. He had happened upon a hammer and you wouldn't believe all the things that looked like a nail to him. I wondered if the same phenomenom held true even for surgeons. I'm learning very quickly that while medicine has evolved significantly over the years, there is still a lot that we don't know about the human body. The brain with it's highly complex nervous system is one such area that only a fraction of what needs to be known about the area is actually known. Going back to what we do know, we know that my GH levels are still exceptionally high and bone growth will continue as long as that remains true. My growth plates have long since been closed so there is no chance of me becoming 6'5" (giantism) but my facial structure will continue to grow as will all the other areas that have already shown signs of growth. The other major concern was that my tumor would continue to grow (and there is no reason to believe otherwise), and it was just a matter of time before my vision was affected. I hate the uselessness of it all.