My father had a tumor removed this week. Originally we thought it was benign..then neurosurgeon told us it was a primary lymphoma, but he removed it all. Shouldn't we be speaking to an oncologist? Was this tumor CNS lymphoma?

This is a little difficult to follow, but if I'm understanding correctly, the neurosurgeon referred to the mass he removed as a primary lymphoma, and the mass was in your father's brain, right? By calling it 'primary' the implication is that this is where the lymphoma begins, so it would follow that yes, primary CNS lymphoma is what he meant. but there are other lymphomas that can begin above the neck, like primary ocular lymphoma, which often becomes PCNSL.

I think consulting an oncologist is the right thing to do, and as soon as possible, if for no other reason than to clear up what seems to be a confusing situation.

Well what I keep stumbling over is the fact that a solid tumor was removed from his brain. This trips me up because PCNSL almost never presents as a removable tumor; like most other lymphomas, in PCNSL you have cancerous lymphocytes proliferating from a primary source throughout the lymphatic system or bloodstream. In the case of PCNSL those cells are spreading through the brain and the spinal cord.

Solid tumors aren't impossible or never seen in PCNSL, they're just uncommon. That said, a brain tumor- or better put, brain cancer- is named after the cells from which it develops, so if it comes from neurons it would be like neuroblastoma, and if from b-lymphocytes, then lymphoma. Metastasis is uncommon for most brain cancers; a primary brain tumor doesn't generally go anywhere. This is not however the case with PCNSL (and a few others), which can spread into the spinal cord. This is probably why the surgeon gave you the list of oncologists, because if this is PCNSL, then an oncologist will probably want to do a spinal tap, MRI or CT scan- in other words the Onc will want to stage your dad for PCNSL so that, as you're hinting, further treatment can begin as soon as possible, if in fact it's what he has.

At any rate, I agree with you that 'primary lymphoma' means PCNSL simply because a neurosurgeon is saying this after having been performing surgery in just one spot- your dad's head. What else could he possibly be referring to, realistically?

And finally, yeah-- PCNSL is very, very serious. I can't stress that enough.

I cannot thank you enough. I have written down my original questions along with the insight you have given me... I will be able to speak to a radiation oncologist in the morning, and atleast now i'll have some idea. This is confusing when just using internet research alone..thanks again, everything you have said has helped me understand a lot better...the spinal tap is something I wanted to ask about, maybe it is best we get him to another center, more experienced with this cancer and treatment plans. Thank you !!

Good luck, ask lots of questions, don't forget to write down or record the answers, and don't be afraid to call the doc later to clarify anything you don't understand!