Essay What are Tumors and How Can They Affect the Brain?

The brain is made up of millions upon millions of cells. These cells are formed from before birth, up until about 7 years old. Once these brain cells stop dividing, they are never meant to divide again. You can see that the division of brain cells is under strict regulation and control. When this control is lost in a single cell, then it starts dividing in an uncontrolled manner. All of the data obtained through research on cancer shows that this disease is caused by a rapidly dividing cell, with no regulators to stop it from dividing. As the cell makes more and more copies of itself, it grows to form a tumor. This is known as cancer.

Cancer has one of the biggest effects on the patients mental health but also the patients loved ones and friends. It is one of the hardest things to get a grip on when the doctor tells someone that they have cancer and a fifty-fifty chance of making it. "The disease can bring many changes-in what people do and how they look, in how they feel and what they value" (Dakota 4). It makes people look at the world and their lives in a different way, valuing now what they took for granted and seeing the bigger picture in every scenario. It is something that no one can actually brace, even after the doctor tells them. Through it all though, the person must remain strong and optimistic because the cancer can affect the person's moods and in return affect the outcome of the person and the chances of their making it

The American cancer society estimated that 18,500 people would be diagnosed with brain tumor and those 12,760 men and women would die of brain cancer in 2005.The National Cancer Institute (NCI) estimated that 22,070 new cases of brain and other central nervous system (CNS) cancers would be diagnosed in the United States in 2009. The American Brain Tumor Association (ABTA) clarifies this statistic further by estimating that 62,930 new cases of primary brain tumors would be diagnosed in 2010. By the year 2030, there will be 26 million new cases, and the death toll will reach to around 1.7 million people. According to World Health Organization (WHO), there are more than 120 types of brain tumors.

Tests to see if you have other types of tumors in other parts of the body.

When I was in sixth grade I had trouble focusing and I would always get bad headaches. I was playing football then and when I got hit, it was the worst pain I had ever dealt with in my entire life although no one could tell me why. Everyone thought I had concussions, but I did not have the symptoms of a concussion at all. There was a spot on the back of my head that was about the size of a dime at first. My mom noticed it at the end of October while giving me a haircut and just thought it was a calcium deposit. In the next month it had grown to the size of a quarter, so I went to the doctor. This is when I found out I had a tumor growing with cancerous cells on the outside of my head.

This topic of someone or myself having a brain tumor, the tumor can be removed but I or someone I loved would lose all of the memories. Would I give the go ahead to remove it? No. I would not remove it on myself. It would be like living with Alzheimer’s disease. I would not remember anyone’s name or faces. They would be like strangers to me. My memories are very much indeed precious to me. I would not be able to live with myself. It would be so confusing and distressing. As for someone I loved having the brain tumor removed. The decision would be totally up to them. I would let them know that I would always support them in their own decision

CNS tumors represent the second most frequent tumor of childhood and the most common pediatric solid tumor; approximately 2,200 patients under the age of 20 are diagnosed each year with invasive CNS tumors, and CNS tumors are the number one cause of death from childhood cancer. [1] Therapeutic strategies generally involve surgery as a primary intervention, but complete resection is often not possible due to tumor location. In such cases, adjunct therapies, including chemotherapy and radiation therapy, may be required based on the tumor histology and presence of residual tumor. [2]

Summer of 2012, my grandfather was diagnosed with stage four Glioblastoma, and given only one year left to live. He had gone to have surgery earlier that week for the removal of his progressive tumor; his condition began to grow worse. The doctors got the tumor on the first try, but it was going to be a while before my grandfather felt back to normal. My family had many more trails and hardships to face in the near future.

Ependymoma is a type of brain tumor and while it is rare in adults, accounting for 2-3% of brain tumors, ependymoma is mainly found in children and accounts for around 5% of all childhood brain cancers (American Cancer Society [ACS], 2014, January 31; American Brain Tumor Association [ABTA], n.d.). The survival rate of patients with ependymoma who have survived five years after their tumor is detected is 75% Tumors occur when cells grow to excess and form a mass. While some tumors are benign, meaning that they are harmless, others are malignant, or cancerous. Ependymoma is a malignant cancerous brain tumor (“American Society of Clinical Oncology [ASCO]– Childhood,” n.d.). The tumor appears as soft, grey or red tumors and could comprise of cysts or mineral calcifications.

I got my research topic idea from my uncle having Ependymoma. I only knew a few things from hearing doctors, surgeons, and my parents talk about it. I did a lot of research to find out all the information I did. While writing this paper my mom also reminded me that my second cousin had this type of brain cancer since he was two years old. I didn’t mention him in my paper because I don’t have as much of a connection to him as I do my uncle. His name was Ryan and he recently passed away of age 8 on Monday.

Glioblastoma(GB) is the most common primary malignant solid brain tumor in adults1. Known for its aggressive characteristics and poor prognosis, the median survival rates of GB patients remain less than 18 months2,3. Tumor relapse owing to chemotherapeutic resistance is almost universal and GB is no exception, thus reflecting in high mortality and morbidity rates4. The WHO 2016 classification of brain tumors identifies GB tumors based on histology, molecular and genetic characterization into defined transcription profiles such as classical, neural, pro-neural and mesenchymal types5. Additionally, the commonly occurring genetic aberrations of primary GB are amplifications/mutations of EGFR, PDGFRA, PTEN, and of secondary GB are IDH1, MDM2

I found one of the best ways for you or the person with the disease no matter what stage they are in is asking them to tell stories, and listening to them of course. It helps their memories refresh and also lets them know that you're there. Another great way is to set daily routines for when you are with them, this will help them get busy and help you keep your mind focused on a task rather than being stuck in your own thoughts. The most important way to deal with it is accepting help from others I know this from personal experience as the main way I got through the day when my granddad told me he thought he would live ten years was to talk about it with my parents.

My father was put on chemo after chemo, radiation after radiation, pill after pill they all had different reactions to his body causing different things to happen for different reasons. Some would make him sick, some would make him feel like he was being electrocuted if he got cold, some made him happy, or even weak. No matter what reaction happened to his body, it didn’t get rid of the cancer if anything it made it spread. Soon the cancer was in many different organs of his

Several methods such as surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy have been used to treat cancers. The cancer patients who are not helped

When I was 17 years old, my father was diagnosed with a brain tumor. Without a doubt it was an event which marked my life and helped me mature in many aspects. I witnessed how my father began to lose his cognitive functions like his ability to focus, changes in his personality, behavior and emotions. This was the first time that I felt interested in learning how the brain process the information and motivated to learn more regarding this disease in order to help him. After my father passed away, my mother fell into a depression so I began to search for ways to improve her emotional state by reading books and magazines on the subject.