Marybe

I was 45 yrs old when I was diagnosed with a lumbar chordoma, in July 2009. I had numerous xrays, and scans. Finally I had a CT asissted biopsy to verify the diagnosis. After much research, I went to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore to have surgery. The surgery ended up taking 3 days. The tumor was growing out of my L4 vertebrae toward my abdomen and also touching both the L3 and L5. The first and second days of surgery involved placing the hardware along my spine and pelvis. The third day, the surgeon(s) went in through my abdomen to remove the tumor and my 3 vertebra. A titanium cage was put in place of my vertebrae. I have rods and screws into my vertebrae. My spine is fused from my T10 to my pelvis. I went through physical therapy. In July 2010, I went to Boston Mass General to have Proton Beam Radiation.