What is brain cancer?

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Brain cancer is cancer that is developed by cells within the brain. Brain tumors are what cause you to have headaches, a hard time seeing, not being able to feel your arms, and numbness. Many people do not know what a brain tumor is but this is a brief summary of what they do. For more information, here is an article that gives you more information on what they are and how they develop..

How do Brain Tumors relate to writing?

Brain tumors relate to writing in the way that once the tumor starts to get larger, your brain starts to get affected by it. There is only so much that your brain can handle. Once the tumor gets to a certain size, your brain starts to stop working the way that it used to work. Why? It stops working because the tumor gets in the way of letting the brain tell your body what to do or say. Therefore when you try to write it will not necessarily tell your body what to do. As well as when you try to speak. Your brain stops and it forgets what you are thinking also, it forgets what to say.

Quote of the day

"You all know I have terminal cancer. And I have a lot of it. But what you may not know is that stress induces its spread and induces its activity. Stress may even bring it on. Yet stress is the fuel of the activist ."
                                                                                                                          -TOM MCCALL

Here is a picture of a brain tumor as it continues to grow. Sometimes, not always do doctors notice when they is something wrong with your brain because sometimes tumors tend to hide. As you can see here in the first brain, the tumor hardly shows.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5RM81_6vC8

This is a video that shows the removal of a brain tumor. It shows graphic pictures that may be gross to some of you, however, if you are interested in knowing how a brain tumor is being removed then watch this video.

The Story of Robert

This is a story about Robert and how he actually overcame the tumor itself. It was not an easy process but he managed to over come the fact that the brain tumor was affecting the way he lived.



http://neurosurgery.ucla.edu/robert-brain-tumor

My story:

"My husband, Bob, was diagnosed with a brain tumor on May 16, 2004.

Bob's tumor is located in his right occipital cortex, the area of the brain that controls vision. The diagnosis was made after he began having visual seizures (he would see a kaleidoscope of colors and lights in his right eye). Since he was born blind in his left eye, visual issues with his right eye are taken very seriously.

Bob started having MRI scans every 3 to 6 months to check for tumor growth. After every MRI we were told the same: "No Change." And we were elated!

This all changed on June 13, 2005. After his routine MRI in Florida, Bob's Neuro-Oncologist informed us that there had been tumor growth and it actually has been happening all along. We were shocked. Until that day, the radiologist routinely compared the newest MRI with the one taken months prior. Since the tumor grows so slowly (about .5 mm a month), no one noticed its change until the Neuro-Oncologist compared the scan from June, 2005 to the very first scan taken in July, 2004.

Because the tumor was growing, Bob decided to have it removed. We traveled to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center for surgery with Dr. Linda Liau on September 12, 2005.

Bob has been under Dr. Liau's care for three years now. In May of 2008, he underwent a second surgery to remove tumor re-growth. After surgery, Bob's pathology report indicated that the center of his tumor had evolved to a more aggressive stage - a Grade III. Not the best news, but on the same token, it qualified him for the Brain Tumor vaccine trial at UCLA.

Bob and I are both still numb to the news. We are not sure how to take it. The good part is that he is now in the trial, but this also puts him only one step away from a Grade IV (what Kennedy has) which can be terminal and a median survival rate of 14.8 months. That is unnerving.

Bob has started the Brain Tumor Vaccine Trial. His first injection went well. He will have 2 more injections bi-weekly then he will receive booster shots every 3 months.

We have started to raise funds to expand brain tumor clinical trials to include low-grade brain tumors and pediatric patients. These clinical trials are showing great success; therefore, we are committed to expanding these trials.

Please join us as we strive for a cure: Miles for Hope

By Barb Gibbs"

Interested in learning more about a Brain Tumor?

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezhost.utrgv.edu:2048/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=bbe80cd4-ac6f-4822-a5c1-0fd5d286c8b3%40sessionmgr106&vid=3&hid=125

Here is an article that actually provides you with a lot of facts on why a brain tumor does not allow you to read nor write the same. Not only does it provide you information on brain tumors but it also explains to you how a brain tumor can affect the way you read and write. If you are interested in learning about a brain tumor, then this is the article to read.

Quote of the day

"Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you THAT IS GREATER THAN ANY OBSTACLE." -Christian D. Larson


Don't let any illness define who you are. Be strong. Because there is someone inside you who is worth a lot. Let that person shine! Smile BIG!

Question of the day

What personal experiences have you had with cancer?

Research Question

How does having a brain tumor affect the way you read and write?

Personal Cancer Experiences

This is my aunt, her name is Micaela Torres, but our family called her Mika. My aunt suffered from 8 tumors in different places of her body. However, she never told us that she had cancer. She never mentioned it never the less even show any symptoms. My aunt lived in Tampico, so we would hardly see her and that is what actually helped her keep it a secret. We all wondered why? Why wouldn't she want us to know? But we all figured that it was because she did not want to hurt us. My family has actually had multiple people pass away from cancer, however what made my aunt so special was that she had cancer in her WHOLE body. Nobody knew. She has 2 children which are my cousins Diobe and Carlos. We all asked them questions about why didn't they ever tell us and why they kept it a secret from the whole family. But it was because my aunt had asked them to not say a word about what she had nor about how many tumors she had. My aunt would just ask my mom for money, but she would tell her that it was to do her six month check up that every women needs to do. So my mom would give her money and she let time pass and gave my aunt time for her to get her results back. When my mom would ask my aunt about the results, she would get so nervous, and just say that they came out negative and that everything was fine. But that was not the case. So my mom decided to call my cousin Diobe, and she asked her what was wrong. My mom would not stop until she actually got the truth out of my cousin. Once the truth was out, my uncles and aunts, including my mom, convinced her to move back to Matamoros so that she can be closer to all of us. Once she got to matamoros,within days the cancer had spread out throughout her whole body which later on we all found out the amount of tumors she had. Which were 8. But the one that stood out the most to me was the tumor that she had in her brain. Why? I was so interested in that tumor because when she got to Matamoros I noticed how half of her face was paralyzed. She couldn't talk neither could she move her face. We would ask her questions and she would have short-term memory that she would forget right away what we would ask her. So one day I actually asked my mom if I could go in with her and actually have a conversation with my aunt, and she agreed. So I went in and I started to make conversation with her and I would write words in a paper and I would ask her to write back to me since she could not move her mouth to talk. So when she was writing I noticed that her hand was shaking way to much and her sentences weren't even making sense. I then realized all the things that a tumor in the brain can make you do. I saw her and I saw how much she sufferent of not being able to read nor write due to the tumor she had in her brain. Because of the brain tumor that she had, the amount of time she had to live decreased in days. Because she went from having one tumor which was in her breast to having seven more. Which the tumor in her brain was the worse one out of all of them. She then passed away, leaving us directions of what to do after she passed away with her body with her two children.

R.I.P Aunt Mika.
I love you, and I will always remember you.

Who Am I?

Hi, my name is Paulina Mejia. I am an 18 year girl with many questions that I wished were answered. I graduated from IDEA Frontier College Preparatory. Which I spent both my middle school and high school years in. I would always argue with my mom every year, going into summer, begging her to please move me schools. She always told me "No, it's for your own good that you stay in IDEA, I'm not moving you." So eventually I gave up on my dream on experiencing what a real middle school and high school was like. Because yes, it was a dream of mine. Every day I would wake up for school thinking "ugh another boring day of school." Until my Junior and Senior year in high school. I stopped with the negative attitude and actually joined activities that had to deal with the school. I got into the dance team, and I joined the cheerleading squad. I would always tell myself, "why should I join if I hate being in front of a big crowd?" But everyone changed my perspective of it so I decided to join. I went from being an extremely shy girl, to not even caring what thought nor said about me. I was always that girl that would put people first before myself and not even care what I wanted. I was always there for everyone but when I needed someone to talk to no one was there for me. And the actions of people not appreciating what others do for them has made me become the person I am today. I have goals in my life, which are to eventually have a family of my own, and to become an oncologist surgeon. I love helping people, that is something I have always loved to do, and the fact of knowing that by becoming an oncologist surgeon I can be able to help people just pushes me further to accomplishing my goal. A little more about myself and the things I love to do during my free time would be hanging out with my friends, spending time with my family, playing with my dogs, and eating. Specially tacos! I have two yorkies, which I love, and their names are Maya and Lorenzo. To me family is a number one priority and I believe that they are the only ones who are actually really there for you. Always be yourself with anyone no matter what the circumstance is. People will always hate, however you must always show them that you can care less of what they think. Be you and always be yourself!