Essay On Brainstem Glioma

Right this minute, 35,000 children are being treated for cancer, the oldest age they are expected to live is eight, more children die from cancer each year than adults did in the terrorist attack on September 11th, 2001. Cancer is a perilous illness and is certainly not a joke, nor are brain tumors such as a brainstem glioma. The fatal disease mainly targets children from the ages of five to ten regardless of their medical history, gender, or race. Brainstem gliomas, like all cancer, does not affect just the diagnosed child, it is a disease that impacts the entire family. As of right now, no cure has been discovered for the common grades of a brainstem glioma ranging from a grade one to four which is why the death rate is so high in young children. Research proves that brainstem gliomas and their effects on the diagnosed
According to Tamara P. Miller, MD, “Usually you cannot tell from the symptoms exactly what type of brain tumor is causing the problems. The most common symptoms are headaches and vomiting. Headaches that wake children up in the morning or headaches that are improved by vomiting are concerning for a brain tumor.” These symptoms can be mistaken for other illnesses such as a stomach virus or cold, but it is pivotal to be examined if the symptoms worsen. Unfortunately, these problems could occur when the patient is already drowning deep into the disease. Children also have trouble walking, nausea, and facial weakness, meaning on half of their face hangs down as if it were numb. Once diagnosed with a brainstem glioma, it is ranked from a grade one to a grade four. Having a surgery to remove the tumor is very rare and only works on people who have a grade one tumor. This may sound like a hopeful ray of sunshine, but the tumor typically grows back within a year and it comes back fuming and worse than