1. Decide Among Your Treatment Options
If you have been diagnosed with a tumor on your pituitary gland, you will need to choose between having it surgically removed or retarding its growth through hormone therapy. In most cases, a pituitary tumor is not cancerous. If it causes your pituitary gland to stop producing hormones, however, it can affect all of the other glands in your body, such as your adrenal gland and your thyroid gland. This can affect the level of all hormones in your body, such as estrogen, ACTH and testosterone, creating a myriad of serious medical conditions.Your physician will be able to examine the seriousness of the tumor and help you decide whether to have surgery or hormone therapy.
2. Discuss Your Condition With Your Family
A pituitary gland tumor can cause many symptoms that may affect those around you. For instance, these tumors generally affect your sex drive, which may affect your relationship with your significant other. A pituitary gland tumor may also cause hair loss, sudden weight loss or gain and other symptoms that may drastically alter your appearance. To live and cope with a pituitary gland tumor, you need the emotional support of those around you. That means you will need to inform them of the nature of your medical condition and how it will affect your life. In turn, your loved ones can provide emotional support and answer questions others may have about your health.
3. Monitor Your Condition for the Rest of Your Life
For many individuals, a pituitary gland tumor may mean a lifelong struggle to maintain hormone levels in the body. If your tumor causes hypopituitarism, which causes pituitary hormones to cease production permanently, you will need to receive hormone treatment for the rest of your life. To live successfully with a pituitary gland tumor, you need to have your hormone levels monitored by your doctor on a regular basis. While this may seem inconvenient, it is preferable to dealing with the debilitating symptoms of hypopituitarism or a similar hormone deficiency.
