A chordoma diagnosis feels overwhelming, especially when you realize that this type of cancer affects only one in one million people. It's important to remember that you're not alone. The first step is to understand your disease and treatment options. Here are 15 commonly asked questions to get you started.
1. What is a chordoma?
A chordoma is a cancer found in the base of the skull or anywhere in the spine. These tumors occur in both bone and the soft tissue.
2. Is a chordoma a brain tumor?
Technically, no. Chordomas are sometimes referred to as brain tumors if they have spread into the brainstem, brain or spinal fluid. Unlike true brain tumors, however, chordomas are not formed by mutated brain cells.
3. What type of cells form a chordoma?
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What are my treatment options?
Surgery to remove the tumor is required in almost all cases of chordoma. Surgical removal of the tumor is usually followed with radiation treatment. Chemotherapy is ineffective for treating chordoma.
11. Is surgery risky?
Surgery to remove chordomas can be risky depending upon their size and location. Your doctor will discuss the specific risks of removing your tumor before requesting surgical consent.
12. Will my chordoma come back?
Chordomas do sometimes recur after removal. A chordoma is less likely to return if the entire tumor is removed. This may be impossible, however, depending on the location of the tumor.
13. Do chordmoas spread?
Though they move slowly, chordomas are malignant and can spread (metastasize). Chordomas metastasize in 30 to 40% of cases.
14. What is the prognosis for chordoma patients?
As is true of all cancers, the best place for answers about your prognosis is your doctor. Only he knows the specifics of your health and tumor. Some people with chordoma have been cured and others have lived rich, fulfilling lives for a decade or more after their
The exact cause of hypothalamic tumors is not known. It is likely that they result from a combination of genetic and environmental factors. In children, most hypothalamic tumors are gliomas. Gliomas are a common type of brain tumor that results from the abnormal growth of glial cells, which are a type of cells that support nerve cells. Gliomas can occur at any age
“There is one Acoma. It is a class by itself. The peer of it is not in the world…The longest visit never wears out its glamour: one feels as in a strange, sweet, unearthly dream, whose very rocks are genii, and whose people swart conjurors. It is the spendthrift of beauty”-Lummis, 1983 (James 18). Acoma was a beautiful, strong village, drawing many people to it, even though they were usually unwelcome. “From the very outset Acoma excited the curiosity and even the fear of pioneers because of the strangeness of its position and the reputation of its inhabitants for ferocity” (Sedgwick preface). Although Acoma had such a reputation, it did not stop Don Juan de Onate from taking over such a magnificent place. Once Onate gained control, the Acoma reputation vanished and all lives of the Acoma Indians changed politically, economically, and especially socially.
Neoplasms are abnormal growths of new tissue. They are described as benign or malignant. Benign neoplasms are formed from the same type of tissue they come from. Malignant ...
Many may wonder if nodules are cancerous, the answer is that they're not. They are just simply growths that affect the voice. Treating these nodules is simply stated. A specialist will first tell a person with a nodule to completely rest their voice. Rest is just the first step and will not get rid of them by that alone. If you are a speaker then speech therapy is recommended and if you're a singer than receive singing exercises from professional help. Surgery is that last result and is very uncommon. It is rarely necessary and is only for nodules that are extremely large or if six weeks of training and help left with no result at all. It is mainly an issue for children who are of the age of 10 or under. There are known to be some logical reasons why surgery is rarely recommended for them. Usually if a child has a nodule removed, it will most likely re-occur or come back and there would have been no point of removing it in the first place. Another thing is that children abuse their voice much more often than adults. This is just because they scream and carry on more often than adults ever would which results in possibilities of seeing the nodules resolve around the time the children hit puberty. For girls who are in their teens and becoming something like a cheerleader who constantly has to yell, future problems can occur. Schools rarely recommend speech therapy because most often it doesn't help.
The distribution of the type of brain and CNS tumors is shown in Figure 2.
In contrast to the inward growth of a polyp, a true cancer can grow inward toward the hollow part of the colon or rectum, and/or outward through the wall of these organs. If not treated, cells from the tumor may break away and spread through the bloodstream or lymph system to other parts of the body. There, they can form "colony" tumors. This process is called metastasis.
Surgery is the oldest type of treatment for cancer. In its earlier use, surgery was not as successful as it is today. This was due to the difficulties involved with the anesthesias, excessive blood loss, respiratory distress, and a number of other complications. Tumors were removed, but metastases had formed, and the cancer returned quickly. In modern day surgery, namely laser surgery, these difficulties do not occur as readily. There are four basic ways to use surgery. One way is a diagnostic biopsy. This is a technique that involves removing part of the tumor, in order to test for malignancy. Another technique is surgery that removes the primary tumor. A third technique is removal of lymphatic tumors and metastases, which can help reduce the recurrence of cancer. The fourth technique is a combination of surgeries to detect and treat a malignant or benign tissue mass (1).
Treatment depends on number of factors like the health of a person and their age, treatments can be very strenuous on the body but almost no surgery is required. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy o combined making treatment for lymphoma very effective and giving it a high survival rate.
According to Essentials of Human Disease and Conditions textbook, “The most important prognostic factors are age at diagnosis, size of the primary tumor, and the presence of tissue invasion or metastases. (American Cancer Society, 2012)
It has been 9 months since my diagnosis, and I am still learning coping mechanisms and pain management. Not everything is 100% though. In a perfect world it would be, but also in a perfect world there would be no disease or sickness. I can only hope for the best and continue living life as I have been for the last 28 years. There may be many changes in my life, some are worse than others, and instead of viewing them as disadvantages I will see them as a metamorphosis. At the end of this journey, I will emerge a stronger person who can withstand fire and brimstone, so to speak. For now I will continue to smile and walk through live with my head held high, even though my body is a battlefield filled with constant aches and pains.
For cancer patients there are several treatment options. Surgery can remove cancerous tumors, chemotherapy uses drugs for treatment, and radiation therapy. The doctor in charge of the patient’s treatment may also choose to use radiation therapy. “Radiation
Cancer cells have spread to lymph nodes near or far from the prostate, or to other organs and tissues, such as the liver or lungs.
In serious cases the pituitary gland is removed with the tumour meaning the patient will need lifelong hormone replacement therapy
Benign tumors look similar to the tissues that they came from and develop slowly. The tumor remains in the same area that the tumor originated in. Malignant tumors are formed from cells that do not resemble the tissue that they came from. They vary in shape and size. This enables pieces of the tumor to break off and spread to other places in the body.
Radiation therapy destroys any lingering tumor cells and slowly reduces GH levels. It may take years for this treatment to noticeably improve acromegaly symptoms