Low Grade Tumour Diagnosis - Am I being too blasé about the situation?

Hi All

Following a contrast MRI, last week I was diagnosed with a low grade tumour on the insula part of my brain.

My neurology consultant has now referred me onto a neurosurgical team to work out what next etc (I assume getting a formal grading of the tumour and what the treatment plan is).

For background, my symptoms were a bit of memory loss which I think started in 2025 and then non-severe but persistent daily headaches from Feb 2026. My bigger concern were the headaches which lead me to seeking medical advice but the neurology consultant thinks the headaches aren't typical of a tumour where I have it (whereas memory loss is) so I suppose it's a bit of good fortune that the tumour has been found.

It's been a rollercoaster couple weeks but physically and mentally I feel good.

The initial appointment with the neurosurgeon is on the 20th of this month (booked via private healthcare), so with me being signed off work, I've got time on my hands.

Prior to the diagnosis, we'd booked a two short family trips this month but my nearest and dearest are trying to convince me that we shouldn't go and I should be trying to find a neurosurgeon with availability next week.

The neurosurgeon I've got is highly regarded so I'm comfortable waiting and, frankly, I want to go on these trips and still enjoy myself before the inevitable treatment plan has me completely wiped out for a bit but am I being a bit too blasé?

I welcome any thoughts.

Here's the radiology report -

FINDINGS
As per the clinical details provided, there is a focal and slightly expansile area of T2 signal change involving the left insula with a combination of cortical and subcortical signal change. On the coronal FLAIR, there is also the impression of more extensive altered cortical signal change in the region of the left insula. There is no diffusion restriction identified, with no evidence of pathological enhancement. There is no abnormal parenchymal susceptibility evident. The rest of the brain parenchyma is preserved, with no other cortical or other structural abnormality. There are no additional sites of pathological enhancement identified.

IMPRESSION
There is a focal area of high T2 signal change within the left subinsular region with additional asymmetrical cortical signal change affecting the anterior aspect of the left insula. There are no aggressive features identified, but the appearances would be most concerning for an intrinsic low grade neoplasm. Neurosurgical referral with interval imaging is advised with consideration of perfusion and spectroscopic imaging to further evaluate.