Neurosurgeons & Pathologists - 1990s Oligodendroglioma Care

Looking for historical insight re: neurology, imaging, oncology, radiation therapy from the mid 1990s I'm performing research for a biographical work I'm writing about a young woman who developed a oligodendroglioma during the mid-1990s. This is NOT related in any way to any legal case, and nobody is second-guessing decisions or trying to assign blame here. I'm simply trying to tell the person's story as accurately as possible, and medical records aren't available. All I have so far are memories and accounts of family and friends. Case details: 30F with no significant medical or seizure history. Experienced visual disturbance and three seizures over the course of a few hours. Seen in ER and negative CAT scan, diagnosed with epilepsy and given Dilantin. Follow up with neurologist dismissed the epilepsy diagnosis via EEG. Her only symptoms over the next 14 months were occasional dizziness and fatigue and mild to moderate headaches 2-3x/week. During this time, multiple specialists could not identify a cause. Insurance repeatedly denied imaging requests for MRI/CAT scan. An ENT eventually managed to get non-contrast MRI approved. MRI revealed a \~9-10cm mass in the left ventricle causing rotation of the brain, deformed midline. She was referred for immediate surgery. Based on imaging and growth rate (0 to 10cm in 14 months) surgeons anticipated the mass was either benign or not serious, would have clean boundaries and be isolated to the ventricle, and resection would last a few hours. On seeing the tumor they realized it was invading surrounding grey matter. The surgeons waited for pathology but the lab was unable to identify the tumor. After a \~2 hour pause, surgeons offered the family two options—careful resection without touching any grey matter, or aggressively removing tumor plus some grey matter. Family chose the latter. Total surgery time was 16-20 hours. The pathology was inconclusive for some weeks. Family was eventually told it was was an oligodendroglioma and extremely rare/virtually unknown. \~1 month Follow-up MRI showed tumor spread widely via CSF into other ventricle spaces, spinal cord, brain surfaces, etc. The new sites in the ventricle spaces appeared as "teardrop" shapes, with bubble/bulging "spots" appearing elsewhere. Oncologists indicated chemotherapy would not be effective and patient was referred to radiation oncology. Patient was prescribed radiation treatment involving fitting her with a head and neck brace custom molded from plaster castings taken of her head and neck. She was also given several tattooed registration marks on her head, neck, and spine. Family reports that the oncologist recommended a hysterectomy due to the intensity of the radiation exposure. They also report she experienced hair loss almost immediately (within hours) after the first treatment. The treatments also caused nausea and severe sunburn. The rate of treatment was limited by recovery from these burns. After some months, the radiation therapy was determined ineffective. The rapid tumor growth placed pressure on the optic nerves and other critical areas of the brain, requiring multiple follow-up surgeries. Doctors placed a "hinged bone flap" in the skull to facilitate surgical access over the following months. I'm hoping to clarify or narrow down some details, in particular: Neurosurgery/Neurology: Nobody seems clear about what type of tumor surgeons initially expected based on the imaging. I realize this would be speculation, but I'm hoping someone in the neurosurgery field can help narrow down the types of tumors that would appear well-bounded and confined to a single ventricle on MRI. Neurosurgery/Neurology: How would this type of tumor appear to a surgeon? What would their reaction be on discovering the malignancy was invasive and not well bounded? How long might a surgeon wait for pathology before continuing resection? Neurosurgery/Neurology: What might convince a surgeon in these circumstances to recommend an aggressive approach that included removing some grey matter? (Nobody's second-guessing anyone's decisions, I'm just trying to understand what would motivate doctors to favor this approach.) Pathology: What procedure would pathologists likely have followed for identifying tissue samples taken during surgery? What tests or procedures would have been used to identify a (likely anaplastic/grade 3) oligodendroglioma around 1993-1994? Would it have been difficult? Any possible insights into what would take so long to isolate this type of tumor? Radiology/Medical Imaging: Can someone help explain the difference between contrast/non-contrast MRI, in particular why the invasive elements didn't show up on the imaging? Radiology/Medical Imaging: The patient reported an iodine allergy and insurance would not cover alternative contrast mediums because of "cost". Can anyone comment on or estimate what the cost difference might have been? Radiation Oncology/Radiation Therapy: Does anyone recognize what type of mid-1990s radiation therapy might be described above? Radiation Oncology/Radiation Therapy: Under what circumstances might an oncologist recommend a hysterectomy, presumably to avoid birth defects/complications following radiation treatment? Radiation Oncology/Radiation Therapy: Is/was it possible for a patient to experience sunburn/hair loss within hours of a first radiation treatment? General: If anyone can point me to any sources of journals/studies/information related to this particular type of tumor, I'd appreciate it. Everything I've found is based on current information, not what was known \~30 years ago. Feel free to ask for clarifications. Thoughts and insights welcome and I'm happy to take answers via DM. Thanks in advance for your help!