Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Progress In Fighting Brain Tumours?

Why Has There Been So Little Progress In Fighting Brain Tumours?
It is a fact that brain tumours account for less than 2% of total cancers which makes them relatively uncommon when compared to other cancers such as lung, breast and prostrate cancers.

Because there are so many different subtypes, requiring different treatment strategies screening for them, as they do for breast and prostrate cancers is almost an impossible task.

Due to the above situation and the different subtypes, funding is harder to obtain and therefore clinical trials that would eventually lead to more rigorous testing are fewer.

I believe there has also been less exposure in the media in the past, but of late we have seen a prominant figure and celebrities that have been diagnosed, namely Kennedy, Russell Watson the singer and Sevi Ballesteros the golfer. These prominant figureheads have drawn the publics attention to the brain tumor problem but public education is not high on the agenda and few people unless actually diagnosed or affected indirectly by the diagnosis of a family member or friend, are really aware of symptoms, treatments and long term results.

A good website to visit to obtain further information on what is going on in these fields is: www.virtualtrials.com

Monday, January 5, 2009

Happy New Year Everyone

I read an inspiring book over the Christmas break and felt quite humbled by it.

It is a book about how life suddenly changed overnight for a guy who was 38 and suffered a brain lesion. His book, like mine, takes you through his experience of events. I felt sorry for him, angry for him, understood fully his hospital fiascoes and what I ended up feeling was proud of him, for his determination, perseverance and being able to keep a hold of his wit and long term vision throughout the nightmare.

The book for anyone interested is called:
'I Think There's Something Wrong With Me' by Nigel Smith.
An enjoyable, thought provoking read.