Questions about surgery for brain mets (to be followed by rads)
My sister already had stage IV lung cancer for the past 5 years (mets was only to pleura) - she was getting scans every 4 months and at the most recent one, it was found that the 2 of the 3 pleural lesions had grown and she completed 15 rads sessions last Monday. Then she had a brain MRI and they found mets to the brain. She underwent a second, more extensive brain MRI on Tuesday and although her onc said when she met with him on Wednesday she was only going to need targeted radiation, today she had visit both the onc and a different radiologist (presumably one who specializes in treating the brain) and was told that there are 3 lesions on the right side of her brain and she needs to undergo neurosurgery to remove those lesions asap and then will need rads - they actually told her to go to the ER so she can be admitted quickly and gave her the name of the neurosurgeon. All her treatment has been as Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) and she has confidence in her doctors there. However, as you can imagine, this was quite shock to her and she and her husband are on their was to MSK as I write this. Although I am sure she will get further information on what to expect from the surgery, I'm reaching out in case anyone who has undergone surgery for brain mets followed by radiation and can provide any insight into what she can expect in terms of recovery from the surgery, any long term impacts from this type of procedure, etc. since that will also help us understand what support and care she will need following the surgery and during/after the radiation. Any insight and advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks in advance. - Abigail