The most important thing is to differentiate between primary brain cancer which means the cancer that is formed from the brain tissue itself and the secondary brain cancer which develops anywhere in the body and spreads to the brain. The abbreviation PMBT stands for primary malignant brain tumour. The term primary malignant brain tumour is used to refer to various kinds of brain cancer that develops from the brain tissues and central nervous system (CNS). The primary brain tumour rarely spreads outside the central nervous system. However the tumours that have formed outside the brain do spread to the brain.
The cancers of lung, breast, kidney and skin mainly spread to the brain. Around 10 people in every 100,000 tend to develop primary brain tumours in United States. This means around 39,000 people are diagnosed with primary brain cancer every year in United States. Among the 39,000 people diagnosed with primary brain cancer around 17,000 people have tumours that are malignant. In United States around 13,000 people die due to primary brain cancer.
The age – adjusted death rate has increased by 9 percent from brain cancer among both men as well as women in the past 20 to 25 years in United States.
There has been a dramatic increase in the two main forms of brain cancer among the adult population. The brain tumours can develop in types of age groups that are children below the age of four and adults between the ages 65 to 79. The brain tumours among the adults are six times more when compared with children. Apart from neurons, the brain and the spinal cord are made up of number of tissues whose main function is to protect, connect and give support to the nerve tissues. There are 15 different types of tissues in the brain and spinal cord. These 15 different types of tissues can give rise to 15 different types of tumours.
Astrocytomas are the tumours of the supporting cells which have the most common malignant form called glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). Neuroblastomas, neurocytomas, and ganglioneuromas are the tumours of neurons. The meninges are the layer over the brain and spinal cord which protects them. The tumour of meninges is known as meningiomas. The pineal gland, pituitary gland and the choroid plexus are very rare forms of brain tumours. The primary central nervous system consists of constitution of 40.6 percent of Glioblastoma multiforme. It also consists of Astrocytomasmas which are infiltrative around 42.4 percent.
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!
By Chris Ryan and Dr. Kevin Buckman