By Dr.Kevin Buckman and Chris Ryan
Brain stem glioma is supposedly a type of cancer which is generally found in children and teenagers. The normal cells in the brain multiply uncontrollably and thus form a mass of tumor. A tumor can be either malignant tumor or benign tumor. Glioma is the tumor which affects the glial cell that is a supportive cell in the brain. Brain stem glioma is known to spread rapidly through the brain stem during the process of diagnosis. This type of tumor is known to be aggressive as it spreads quickly. This type of tumor largely affects children who belong to the age group of five and ten years old. Brain stem glioma is a life threatening disorder mainly because it grows in the part of brain stem where it is difficult to perform a surgery.
This type of brainstem cancer affects the cranial nerves, the crania nerves are the ones which supple the muscles connected to the eye, face and the muscles which are involved in swallowing. Thus the symptoms comprise double-vision, incapability to close eyelids properly, tilting a particular side of the face, and complicates the procedure of chewing and gulping down. This tumor even hampers the process of walking and speaking. Symptoms rapidly worsen as and when the tumor grows. These tumors also obstruct the cerebrospinal fluid in the brain this increases the frequency of vomiting and headaches.
For effective treatment of brain stem glioma radiation is the best suggested alternative. Surgery is mostly not conducted because these tumors are extensively spread within the brain stem. A number patients have to face permanent psychological, cognitive and defects which arise from the treatment itself. Around 3,800 children suffer from brain stem glioma annually and around 950 of these are mostly benign tumors. It has also been estimated that only about 10 to 15 percent of the children who suffer from the brain stem glioma survive this disorder within three years of the diagnosis.
About www.cancer.im
When an individual is diagnosed with cancer, the feeling of panic is overwhelming. As loved ones hear the news, they too are overwhelmed and often do not know what to do. Cancer.im provides a common sense approach to managing this chaos and uncertainty. The goal is to increase the patient’s quality of life and enable them to take back control.
Cancer.im is a social network for cancer patients, advocates, and volunteers. Members can connect to other people affected by cancer, organize the personal and professional resources available to them, research the qualitative and quantitative aspects of cancer, and create a customized strategy for beating or preventing the disease.
Cancer.im was founded by people with firsthand experience with cancer. Cancer.im continues to grow by the individuals who continually donate their time, resources, and experience to helping cancer patients navigate the obstacles they face. Our driving principles are based on clinical data which have shown that:
Cancer patients who have an active support network, outlive cancer patients who do not
Increasing a Cancer Patient’s Quality of Life, directly lowers the incidence of morbidity
Together, we believe that the Cancer.im social network can change the way in which patients view and manage their disease.
Cancer.im is guided by the following principles which collectively make up our mission.
Cancer is a generic term used to describe a unique disease. We want to empower every cancer patient with the information and resources they need to create a customized cancer strategy as unique as they are.
Cancer experiences are often characterized by feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. We want to turn cancer patients from hopeless to hopeful, and cancer advocates from helpless to helpful.
Every individual who has been through an experience with cancer has unique wisdom that others can benefit from. We want to harvest and organize this wisdom and make it available to the world.
Cancer patients who have an active support network outlive cancer patient who do not. We want to empower every cancer patient, regardless of their ability to pay, with the ability of organizing and managing their own support network and outlive this disease.
Increasing a cancer patient’s quality of life directly lowers the incidence of morbidity. We want to organize and empower those who surround a patient with the knowledge and ability to directly affect that patient’s quality of life for the better by alleviating the daily burden associated with cancer.
With these principles always in mind, and the continual dedication of our online community, we can change the way the world views and manages cancer!