The second most typical tumors found in children are brain tumors. Brain tumors are the primary cause of childhood death as they are escalating in frequency. Doctors have found ways to advance their imaging of these brain tumors to help pinpoint the exact location of the tumors, increasing the chance of the children’s survival (Conway, Asuncion, and DaRasso 1). The diagnosing procedure is a crucial process, helping to gain information about the child’s tumor. Brain tumors range in different types of tumors and forms of treatment that can lead to major effects on the children and their families. When brain tumors are first developing, many of the signs and symptoms are not extremely apparent. The tumor does not begin affecting the child …show more content…
As Hill et al. puts it: “The enlargement of a tumor in a contained space leads to increased pressure throughout the entire cranial vault. As a result, . . . 10% [of patients] experience nausea and vomiting” (4). When this sort of force occurs in certain parts of a child’s brain, swelling will ordinarily occur, usually resulting in a major effect on the sides of the brain. It is rare for a child to experience all three symptoms (headache, vomiting, and inflation of the head). This situation occurs in one of ten children with brain tumors (Molineus et al. 308). Second of all, another recurrent sign of a brain tumor is a decrease in the amount of enthusiasm of a child. Numerous times, parents think that their child is not getting enough sleep, but this symptom is particularly significant in the diagnosis of brain tumors in children. Going hand-in-hand with low enthusiasm, a loss of weight is likely to occur as the amount of zest dwindles. Loss of weight usually does not denote that a child has a brain tumor, but, according to the study taken by Wilne et al., weight loss does occur in one out of every five children with a brain tumor. This weight loss might not be too noticeable in the beginning, but as the children …show more content…
CT scans are able to find the position, the boundaries, and the solidity of the brain tumor. One job that a CT scan does is that it differentiates soft tissues from the tumor. CT scans use ionizing radiation to give the image. However, a CT scan does not produce the same type of specific information as other forms of neuroimaging technology. In some cases, a CT shows no signs of a tumor, so a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan is needed (Hill et al. 4-5). A CT scan does cost a lot less money, but if an MRI has to be taken anyway, a CT scan is not a necessary step in the diagnosis
After seeing his physician, he told him that he had some of the common symptoms of a brain tumor. Brain tumors have a variety of symptoms ranging from headache to stroke. Seizures may be the initial manifestation of a brain tumor, and eventually as many as 30% of patients with brain tumors will develop seizures. Gradual loss of movement or sensation in an arm or leg may occur. Unsteadiness or imbalance, and double vision may occur, especially if it is associated with headache.
Other testing procedures that are commonly employed, in order to gain a better visual image of the excitatory activity in the brain are the PET scan and the MRI. According to Kalat (2004), these methods are non-invasive, meaning that they don’t require the insertion of objects into the brain, yet they yield results that allow researchers to record brain activity. The PET scan (positron emission tomography) involves the researcher injecting a radioactive chemical into the patient’s body, which is then absorbed mainly by the brain’s most active cells. With the use of radioactive detectors, placed around the patient’s head, a map is produced that shows which areas of the brain are most active.
It is characterized by normal early growth and development followed by a slowing of development, the loss of purposeful use of the hands, slowed brain and head growth, problems with walking, seizures, and intellectual disability.
Over some period of time, affected children (patients) experience mental impairment, worsening seizures, and progressive loss of sight and motor skills. Affected patients become totally disabled and eventually die.
Computed Tomography (CT) is a biomedical imaging technique which produces cross-section images also called "slices" of anatomy of the human body. Radiographic beams are made incident on the human body. The reflected radio beams create a detailed computerized picture taken with a specialized X-ray machine. CT is more precise than a standard X-ray, and provides a clearer image. Fig.1 shows a CT scan of transverse view of the brain. The cross-sectional images are used for a variety of diagnostic and therapeutic purposes.
Although there is no early detection test for mesothelioma, there are several tests that can be used to help in making the diagnosis of mesothelioma, including a chest x-ray, a CT scan, or an MRI scan. A chest x-ray yields an image of the lungs that will show many types of abnormal changes. A CT scan is a type of x-ray, but it uses a computer rather than film to create detailed images. An MRI scan uses magnetism, radio waves, and a computer but does not utilize radiation to create a clear image. These tests help your doctor differentiate mesothelioma from other lung tumors as well as determine where the tumor is and its size. Your doctor may need to remove a tissue sample from the tumor or draw fluid from it to confirm it to confirm the diagnosis.
4. Brain tumors are directly related to their location and size in relation to signs and symptoms displayed
Brain aneurysms practically go unnoticed and tend to have few to no symptoms until the rare occasion when the aneurysm ruptures. The bursting aneurysm causes bleeding in the brain and then often leads to a stroke. This is exactly what happened to my great-aunt Judy who survived a brain aneurysm and stroke.
Brain scans -These tests can identify strokes, tumors, and other problems that can cause dementia. Scans also identify changes in the 19 brain’s structure and function. The most common scans are computed tomographic (CT) scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). CT scans use X-rays to produce images of the brain and other organs. MRI scans use a computer, magnetic fields, and radio waves to produce detailed images of body structures, including tissues, organs, bones, and nerves. Other types of scans let doctors watch the brain as it functions. Two of these tests are single photon-emission computed tomography, which can be used to measure blood flow to the brain, and positron emission tomography (PET), which uses radioactive isotopes to provide
According to SEER Statistics, 23,380 people are estimated to get a brain or nervous system cancer diagnosis. Out of those people, 14,320 people are estimated to die from their brain or nervous system cancer diagnosis (National Cancer Institute). Cancer is a type of dangerous tumor, or a buildup of extra cells that form a mass of tissue, that can be life threatening (National Cancer Institute). The term for a tumor that is cancerous is a malignat tumor, whereas a benign tumor does not contain cancer cells (National Cancer Institute). According to the National Cancer Institute, the causes of brain cancer are unknown, but risk factors include family history and excessive radiaton exposure. Although they are not always due to a brain tumor, comon symptoms include headaches, nausea, speech, hearing, vision, and mood changes, problems with balance and mamories, seizures, and numbness in arms and legs (National Cancer Institute). MRI and CT scans as well as surgical biposies (or the removal of part of the tumor to be examined) are used to diagnose brain cancer (National Cancer Institute). Different types of treatment options include radiation therapy, surgery to remove the tumor, and chemotherapy. According to Charles Davis, MD, PhD and Nitin Tandon, MD of WebMD.com, chemotherapy is “ the use of powerful drugs to kill tumor cells”. There are a few different types of chemotherapy, but all of which bring out the same kinds of side effects. Although the physical side effects of chemotherapy are commonly known, few people know of the emotional toll chemotherapy can take on a patient and his or her family as they go though this process.
I was a child when my aunt got sick, and my fascination about the field of medicine began. She had brain cancer. While I watched the disease progress I was flooded, not only with sadness and grief, but with questions. With two psychologists for parents I had a lot of support and understanding of my feelings, but I was left curious about the medical aspect of the disease and why there was no cure. The notion that the brain could change someone’s entire personality and physical function was amazing to me. Spending a lot of time in hospitals, I observed so much about the impact of a cancer diagnosis on patients and their families, and about what happens to people through the disease process. I noticed the enormous influence that the medical professional’s
... usually detected when someone goes into the doctor for a head injury or some kind of pain completely unrelated to the aneurysm. A computed tomography (CT) scan may be used to help identify any bleeding in the brain. Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA), being similar to a CT, uses a magnetic field and pulses of radio wave energy to provide pictures of blood vessels inside the body. A dye is often used during the procedure to make blood vessels appear more clear. Lastly, a cerebral angiogram may be done. This is an x-ray test, where a catheter is inserted into a blood vessel, usually in the groin or arm and moved from the vessel into the brain. A dye is also injected. The dye used allows any problem areas in the artery, to be viewed by a radiologist on their x-ray. Although this test is more invasive, it is the best way to locate a small brain aneurysm (Nisacara).
Obstructions such as tumors can interrupt normal brain activity, leading to deficits of normal reasoning, motor control, or consciousness. Many of the signs of neural damage are easily recognizable by an outside observer, but since the actual cause of these problems are internal, the symptoms can be vague. The real deficits can affect the brain’s anatomy, or the way signals are processed. A physician can only determine the real cause by examining the brain internally to find irregularities, either in structure or in functioning.
How does one see the symptoms for childhood cancer? First one must know that there are many different types. There are forty different types of children’s cancer, including: Leukemia, Lymphoma, Sarcomas, cancers of the nervous system, liver cancers, kidney cancer, and more. Out of these cancers, the two most common childhood cancers are Leukemia, and brain tumors. What is leukemia? It is a cancer in which the bone marrow and other organs that produce blood produce and increased amount of immature or abnormal white blood cells. The symptoms of leukemia are paleness, excessive bruising, pain in the joints, and fatigue. Brain tumors are formed when a massive amount of cells are produced on the brain. The symptoms for this are frequent headaches, vomiting, seizures, decreased coordination, weakness, and problems concerning vision.
CTscans stands for “Computed Tomography”. It is a way of looking inside your body using a special camera. It is an advanced scanning x-ray and computer system that makes detailed pictures of horizontal cross-sections of the body, or the part of the body that is x-rayed. A CT scan is a diagnostic test that combines the use of x-ray with computer technology. A series of x-beams from many different angles are used to get these cross-sectional images of the patient’s body. In a computer, these pictures are assembled into a 3-dimentianal picture that can display organs, tissues, bones, and any such thing. It can even show ducts, blood vessels and tumors. One of the advantages of CT is that it clearly shows soft tissue structures (such as brain), as well as dense tissue structure (such as bone). The pictures of a Ctscanner are a lot more detailed than the pictures of a regular X-ray machine. It can make pictures of areas protected or surrounded by bones, which a regular X-ray machine can not. Because of this, a CT scanner is said to be 100 times as affective and clever as an ordinary X-ray, and can therefore diagnose some diseases a lot earlier and quicker. It is recent technology that has made it possible to accurately scan objects into a computer in three dimensions, even though the machines and ideas were developed in the 1970s. In the 70s doctors started to use this new type of machine that could give detailed pictures of organs that the older type of x-ray, machine could not give.