Brain Cancer Research

Question: what is currently being done about brain cancer and what does the future research look like? what is currently being done about brain cancer and what does the future research look like? what is currently being done about brain cancer and what does the future research look like? Are there any cures for brain cancer? What helps prevent brain cancer

Answer: Tony, you are being mislead to say the least if you think that article proves a cure. First, it's SUGGESTED and 2nd, we are not mice. Many trials and studies involving animals does not translate to us humans. I have brain cancer, so I know a little about it. The best methods are the tried and true ones; surgery, chemo, radiation. If mine comes back, I will do the gamma knife while it's still small. If that person actually turned down that treatment, she was crazy for not doing it. Gamma is the way to go while the tumor is still small and it doesn't matter how deep it is in the brain. Kennedy never once thought he was cured. And I'm sorry, but your mom did not have brain cancer. She had lung cancer with mets to the brain. That would be treated differently than primary brain cancer.

Question: Duke University research on gliablastoma brain cancer ? http://www.cancer.duke.edu/membership/index.php?action=publication&id=410350&member=1 Man on the radio said they were working on a cure.

Answer: They have 8 clinical trials going on glioblastoma: http://www.cancer.duke.edu/CTrials/index.php?ST_iFFCategory=1100&Type=Adult&Trial=Brain+Cancer If you are looking for help for a specific patient, contact Duke--don't mess around on the internet. http://www.cancer.duke.edu/btc/modules/patientinfo13/index.php?id=14

Question: My boyfriend has brain cancer and his mom wants to donate his brain for research. how would she go about that?

Answer: When my brain tumor was removed, they asked my husband if he would sign off to donate it to research. I guess the brain donation would work the same way. I would assume he is or has been undergoing treatments for his brain cancer, including surgery?

Question: any one know anything about brain cancer? im doing a research paper on brain cancer, does anyone have any insight into this misfortunate disease?

Answer: I was dx with brain cancer the last day of aug. '08. It was a mixed glioma called oligoastrocytoma, mixed grade 2, 3 so it's a 3. It had been growing for years. I just had minor symptoms, like arm weakness and tingling, which I put off to an old injury when I fell off a horse at the age of 13. That went on for almost 2 years. Then I got a funny feeling in the pit of my stomach that went on for several months that my dr said was the aura you get. I also got feelings of deja vu, very weird. My nickname at work was Ms. ADD. I had a migraine on a wednesday and a seizure that friday. My tumor was on right side, above my ear. Have undergone 6 weeks of radiation/chemo. Got a month off and started up chemo again, 5 days a month of temodar, the standard med for brain cancer. I get an mri every 2 months and so far, no regrowth. The surgery got the entire tumor. I'm very lucky. Roger, if you are a dr, then you know tumor removal is all about location. Even a gbm may be able to be removed entirely, but they do have a strong propensity to grow back faster than others. They are strictly astrocytoma cells, part of which mine was.

Question: Unique Brain Research Organization Events???? Hi, I am the founder of a brain research non-profit organization...What would be some unique events I could organize to increase brain cancer awareness. Like a brain fair maybe....Also what activities could I have at the event? Thanks!

Answer: People like brain teasers and problems that challenge thinking. You could provde information by way of interesting brochures to make more people aware of problems and what they may do to help.

Question: Understanding brain cancer? I would like to know about brain cancer, I tryed researching for myself but I didn't understand what it meant, I need english ppl.

Answer: Brain cancer is a cancerous tumor of the grey matter of the brain. There are other cancers and benign tumors of the head that can affect the brain by pressure, such as a meningioma which can grow between the brain and the skull. These are often referred to as brain tumors although they do not directly affect the brain.

Question: Has anyone else read anything about the link between lead and cancer? I just read an article about a study pubished in 2006. Over 300,000 people were tracked over 20 years based on their occupation and rated for risk of exposure. People with occupations placing them at greater risk to lead exposure, such as painters, carpenters, machinists etc. were 50% more likely to die from brain cancer! There has been very little other research in this area following long term health effects of lead exposure. Scary right?

Answer: In 2006, Van Wijngaarden, et al, published a paper called "Brain cancer mortality and potential occupational exposure to lead: findings from the National Longitudinal Mortality Study, 1979-1989." The findings suggest a link between the two, but don't really prove a cause and effect. That is, did the lead exposure cause the brain cancer? All they could measure was "potential" exposure. Still, I agree with you that there does need to be more research on lead exposure and how it relates to chronic disease. Great question!

Question: Cell phones and brain cancer/tumours? ...anybody know anybody...? Who uses a cell phone and then developed brain cancer/brain tumour? I'm very curious about this. Research/everybody says, that the correlation between cell phone use and cancer is "inconclusive" however, that's the thing with cancer; you don't know until 20 years later if it causes cancer. Or let me ask in another way; do you know anybody who has had brain cancer? Did they use a cell phone?

Answer: There was research that showed a higher incidence of brain cancer in Scandinavian cell phone users. The Finns and Swedes have been using cell phones for many years longer than North Americans, so they would be good test subjects to study the long term effects of cell phone use. This week, another study came out that said the opposite, but this study was paid for by Sony/Ericson, so you have to take that with a grain of salt. Every manufacturer says the level of microwave and magnetic resonance is well under the government's recommended levels. The problem is that who is to know what is a safe level. You can't subject someone to these conditions as part of a test. You would be compared to a WW-II Nazi. So nobody really knows what is a safe level The same thing happened with Radar Speed Detectors that your police department used to use to catch you speeding. The levels of microwaves, magnetic resonance anf Infra-red radiation were all under the government recommended levels. Now, all those police officers are experiencing health problems. The guys that rested the radar gun on their laps now have testicular cancer. The ones that rested it on their shoulders now have brain tumors and neck goiters. In the case of cell phones, these levels are way way lower than those radar guns. But again, who is to say how much is too much or if any at all is dangerous. Meanwhile, I use my cell phone only when I have to. The rest of the time I use a land line whenever possible. Better safe than sorry.

Question: Fundraiser for cancer research? My father died a week ago after battling lung cancer & two tumors in his brain. Also, my dad's mother died of kidney cancer in 1999. My dad's father died of throat & skin cancer in 2001. My stepmother's father died of lung cancer & my stepfather's mother died of leukemia. I feel like there is something I should be doing about what seems like an epidemic. I know people have been dealing with cancer for many years, but i'm sure the more money put towards the cause, the more research the scientists can do. So here's my questions: I want to organize some sort of fundraiser, not only to raise money, but to spread awareness. I'm 21 years old and my money situation is pretty tight. I do have a few dollars to spend if need be. Can someone tell me where I need to start? Or what steps I need to take to make this happen? Please only tell me personal knowledge or experience. Don't link me to a website you think might be able to help me, because I've checked many websites & I see nothing. Thanks. I really appreciate anyone who has anything to tell me. I'm clueless!

Answer: My mother died of lung and bone cancer Nov. 20, 2005. I have been active in raising money for cancer research since her diagnosis in Sept. 2004. She was diagnosed one month after her own mother passed away from heart disease. I joined up with an organization called Relay For Life. It is actually a part of the American Cancer Society. There are many branches of Relay For Life all over the country and in Canada too I think. Basically what Relay For Life is - is a 24 hour "walk-a-thon" you can form a team and pass a baton or torch just make sure that someone on your team keeps moving all night long, that's where the team work takes place. The whole point of Relay being a 24 hour event is that Cancer does not sleep and so neither will we. It is a really awesome event and in my community we have raised in just this past year alone nearly $250K that is a lot of money. The sad thing is, there seems to never be enough money raised...but they keep saying every penny helps. Since this event takes place only once each year in my community, my team tries to earn money year round by doing little things like pizza take-overs at local pizza huts, car washes, bake sales and so on. Another really cool idea that I just heard about is a Penny Pitch. You can set out jars, shoe boxes, empty milk cartons whatever you can find that will work for collecting money and advertise this event to the public on the radio, TV and newspaper. The spokesman for our local penny pitch is our area's well known radio DJ on the Country Music Station. He has put out challenges to everyone from school children to business professionals to see who can collect the most pennies. Its an awesome idea. I mean geez you could go up to just about anyone and say I'll take those pesky pennies that you don't want floating around in the bottom of your purse or jingling around in your pocket. You would be surprised how many people will give up pennies as opposed to dollar bills because they think pennies are worthless...but think about it when they are added up...they count too!!! I hope this helps as far as ideas are concerned. Seriously though please consider joining or starting up a Relay for Life team in your area. It is so much fun and worth it for so many enormous reasons. If you want to know more about Relay for Life go to the American Cancer Society website. I know you said not to refer you to websites, but truly if you want to know how to help, this is a great way to get involved. There are a lot of people out there that care just as much as you do. Check it out you will see what I mean. Good luck and God Bless you...you have a heart of gold.

Question: my mom and brain cancer?? Okay well ive been doing some research on brian cancer because my mom been saying she has all theses bad headaches and all these other symtoms..shes been like this for the past maybe 4 years she hasnt been to the doctor since...well i dont think that she thinks she could have this but what ive been reading she dose have many of the symtoms...well and ways how do i tell her to go get checked for cancer or how does she go about that?

Answer: I highly doubt your mom has brain cancer. Researching symptoms on the internet does more harm than good. All is does is cause unnecessary stress. In high school, I was convinced I had cancer of the throat because I had chronic sore throats. I was convinced it was that, and had begun preparing myself because when I looked up chronic sore throats, cancer popped up! You know what it was-allergies! Please, rest assured. I can think of 36 things right now off the top of my head that have headaches as a possible symptom, and just about the rarest of them is a brain tumor. You can encourage your mom to go for a check-up because that's important for anyone, but please do not worry.

Question: Can You Go Through Medical School In The Evenings / Weekends In The Chicago Area? Have been out of college for 7 years now, about to hit 30, and making a good living, but am thinking of going back to my original "gut instinct" career path which is medical research/genetic engineering/etc. Most medical career paths I read about seem to involve very long stays in medical school and the necessary followup. My question is can a good portion of this be done by taking evening/weekend classes or do you have to always be a full time medical student. Second related question is do I even need a medical degree and followup residency/fellowship or is there some other shorter path to start working on my passion such as cancer research, AIDS research, brain research, etc. (ideally working on cures for the major diseases that we face). I have always tested in the top 2-5% of SAT,ACT,GMAT, etc. so I feel I have the aptitude to really contribute to the medical field now that I'm grown up and have an excellent work ethic and know what I want in life.

Answer: i would think no. you are right that most medical career paths such as genetic engineering, cancer research, etc. require a lot of time and independent research. in order to have those kind of careers you would most likely need to get a Phd. that takes many many years full time and would take triple that amount in weekends/evenings if that's even possible. no offense but its been awhile since you've been in school and it takes a lot of recent work to even be accepted to a program like that. the SAT, ACT, GMAT is trivial compared to the MCAT you would need. if you want to pursue these career possibilities you would need to apply yourself full time - maybe even more. your best bet would be to contact a local medical school or college and ask them. good luck to you. i think its great you are that ambitious. hopefully something will work out for you.

Question: Have you ever lost somebody to cancer? October 15th will be the one year anniversary of my friend of 9 years passing. She was a devout Christian and because of her constant pushing, I went to college and graduated with a degree in an area that interests me. Anyway, since the Pink Ribbon items are out now, shouldn't we do our part and buy them specifically because part of their proceeds go to breast cancer research. My friend died of brain cancer, which she was aware she had for only 3 months before she was taken from us. But since there is no ribbon or anything that I know of for brain cancer, I've transferred that over to Pink Ribbon. Does anyone else feel we should buy items which go to a better cause? I have several pairs of their socks (and have given away most of the ribbon pins that came with them since I have enough) and I can definately say they are very comfortable. I also have the wallet which I buy every year. Shouldn't we all do our part to help as much as we can?

Answer: As salaamau 'alaikym, my friend. Your avatar keeps changing and I am not always certain that it is the "Proud Muslimah" who I have seen previously. Insha'Allah, no, I do not support buying such commercial items so as to support a cause. The reality is that when you purchase such, you are only donating a small amount to the chosen charity while giving a large amount to the company that manufactures and sells the items purchased. Insha'Allah, if you really want to help a cause, support it directly. However, with all charities, be certain to check them out thoroughly as many use the same for personal profit. Give wisely and thereby give well. Ma'a salaam.

Question: In Arabic country's why are they drinking yerba mate when i read its causes cancer in lungs? I read an acticle on yerba mate that it can give you lung cancer , throat and brain cancer as yerba mate has a very large amount of caffeine and toxins that disrupt the body emune system allowing the body to die .Yerba mate keeps the body awake for too long and can cause brain damage as well i read in the article .They supply it to iran ,iraq ,libya and other arabic countrys .It comes from a woody tree in the south america's and there is 4 or 5 different labelled yerba mate product s on the shelves in you drink to much in can keep you awake for days.Choose your natural products carefully as research even saves lives in the plant world.

Answer: look at people smoking, that's done all over the world. we know damn well it will kill us but we do it anyway. it's just something people do. Do people in Arabic countries know that drinking yerba mate is potentially dangerous? If no, then something should be done, obviously.

Question: do cell phones cause brain cancer? radio freguency sickness is more common these days due to technology and everything around us...i did research on the subject and in countries that ppl live naturaly off the land and have no technolgy cancer is not an issue to these ppl...in america we already have to worry about getting cancer from the prossesed food we eat & about 90% of our population are on cell phones,i know 2 ppl that have gotten brain cancer and they are known to have used cell phones for many years...i worry alot about getting sick from a cell phone so i dont use them,how many of you ppl believe you can get sick from constantly using mobile phones for a long time?

Answer: n a 2003 study done by Salford, Brun, Eberhardt, Malmgren and Persson from the Rausing Laboratory and Lund University Hospital in Sweden, the effects on rat brains of microwave radiation in amounts comparable to those broadcast by common cell phone usage were documented. The resulting damage included cell damage, leakage of proteins through the blood-brain barrier and a depressing suggestion of a generation of users feeling the effects as early as middle age. The idea behind this study was that instead of concentrating on cancer caused by the radiation, the focus was placed on more specific brain damage. They found that there was indeed brain cell damage, in amounts significant enough to warrant further investigation. On a recent episode of Larry King, prominent neurosurgeon Dr. Keith Black from Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles said he keeps the phone away from his ear, instead opting to use an earpiece. Add to this the fact that Dr. Vini Khurana, an associate professor of neurosurgery at the Australian National University will only use his cell’s speaker capability and CNN’s chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, a neurosurgeon at Emory University Hospital, will only use an earpiece, it makes one start to wonder about the seriousness of this. At this time, the American Cancer Society has found no hard link between cell phone usage and cancer, but brain damage? This area of research is still new and will take more study. http://www.brainandspinalcord.org/blog/2008/06/can-your-cell-phone-cause-brain-damage/