Aug 26, 2009 6:59 am US/Eastern
Kennedy Beat Odds In Brain Cancer Battle
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
Nearly 18,000 Americans are diagnosed with brain tumors every year.
About half of those are malignant gliomas, the type Senator Kennedy had.
These types of tumors are very aggressive, growing into the deep layers of the brain, making it virtually impossible to remove all of the tumor during surgery.
And even radiation and powerful chemotherapy drugs usually can't kill all of the cancerous cells.
SURVIVAL ODDS
Only about half of patients survive more than a year.
Many succumb within 6 months of diagnosis.
Surviving about 15 months, Senator Kennedy essentially beat the odds.
LESSON TO LEARN
One lesson we can all learn from the Senator's illness is what signs to look out for that might suggest we have a brain tumor.
We all get headaches from time to time, but if you develop a headache that's unusual for you, especially one that is worse in the morning, you should be examined.
Though the vast majority of headaches are not due to anything serious, it is the most common symptom among patients with brain tumors.
Other common symptoms include seizures - which is what led to the senator's diagnosis - vomiting, problems with speech or coordination, memory loss, weakness in one part of the body, or visual problems.
TREATMENTS
Here in Boston, and in other parts of the world, scientists are searching for more effective treatments for malignant gliomas.
They are studying different combinations of chemotherapy and experimental treatments like anti-angiogenesis drugs, which cut off the blood supply to tumors, and cancer vaccines which trigger the immune system to attack a tumor.
The hope is that in the not-so-distant future, we will have more effective treatments to buy patients more time and one day eventually cure this devastating illness.
Many people criticize the fact that when a celebrity is diagnosed with an illness, the whole world pays attention while thousands of regular Americans suffer in silence.
But the senator's courageous struggle will not only potentially bring more funding and more focus on the area of brain cancer research, his brave battle will give courage to those who are also suffering from it.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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