Patient Stories

Nelda Metz - Back home more quickly after incision-free brain "surgery"

Story courtesy of Mayo Clinic, Minnesota

Nelda Metz had been healthy all of her 49 years. She hardly ever got colds or viruses. Imagine her surprise, then, when she awoke in the middle of the night and could not control her left arm. She bit her tongue during the episode, which lasted only a minute. Except for a sore tongue, she felt fine the next day. So she ignored the episode.

About six weeks later, she was outside her Waseca, Minn., home planting flowers when her left side "froze" again. She managed to walk up onto the deck, where she lost all control of her left side and went into a spasm. She lost her balance, fell, hit her head and lost consciousness. Her husband of 30 years, John, found her and called 911. By the time the ambulance arrived, Metz felt fine. She refused to go to the hospital until her daughter Angie stopped by and insisted her mother get checked by a physician.

At the hospital, Metz had a CT scan, which showed a mass the size of a grape in the right front of her brain. Metz, her husband and her physician decided she should go to Mayo Clinic for further evaluation. Testing there revealed that the mass was a cancerous brain tumor and that Metz also had cancerous lesions on one of her lungs. "I did not want to hear the words, 'You have cancer,'" says Metz. "But from the first day, I have kept a positive attitude and listened so I could understand what the best treatment for me is." After learning the possible courses of treatment for her brain tumor, Metz decided upon Gamma Knife Treatment.

"I didn't want to have to have my head cut open if I didn't have to," says Metz. "There are so many possible side effects that go with brain surgery — infection, excess bleeding, long hospital stays and lengthy recovery. We knew that traditional neurosurgery was still an option if Gamma Knife Treatment wasn't successful."

"Gamma Knife Treatment is neurosurgery without an incision," Michael Link, M.D., the neurosurgeon who treated Metz. "Instead, the surgeon uses gamma radiation administered right through the patient's head to destroy diseased tissue in the brain and skull while preserving surrounding healthy tissue. It is used quite successfully to treat some cancerous and noncancerous brain tumors, particularly those that are difficult to reach through conventional surgery; and blood vessel abnormalities in the brain."

The gamma knife isn't really a knife at all. It is a machine with a cylindrical array of 201 sources of high-intensity radiation that converge on a small area to destroy diseased tissue. Highly sophisticated computer software helps physicians determine the size, location and shape of the area to be treated.

Metz was awake but sedated during the gamma-knife procedure. She wore a lightweight frame around her head to keep it from moving during treatment.

"I really didn't feel much, but I heard a series of zaps as they did the radiation," says Metz. "I think the whole thing lasted about 45 minutes. I went home that same day."

Two months later, Metz had an MRI to learn if the gamma-knife radiosurgery was successful. Metz's relief at the good news — the tumor had shrunk to less than half its original size — was tempered only by her need to begin treatment for the cancer in her lung. She had several months of chemotherapy followed by 30 radiation treatments at Mayo Clinic.

"During my time at Mayo Clinic, I have been treated wonderfully and have seen everyone else being treated the same way," says Metz. "I have never seen anyone who works there in a bad mood. I think it's a wonderful place to go, and we're so grateful that we're only an hour away.

"I'm glad I was able to have Gamma Knife Treatment because I was able to go home to be with my family that same day, which is always comforting — even more so when you have cancer," says Metz. "My friends and family have been wonderful during this difficult time — helping with rides, putting me on prayer lists. I had never really been sick but I got cancer. I'm doing much better now, so I never underestimate the power of prayer."

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