When looking at various treatments and medications for brain tumors and the complications that occur from them, it can be difficult to get a firm grasp on every detail that is involved with their usage; how to best take medications in conjunctions with other ones, how to weigh the pros and cons of various treatments, and so on. To add to it another form of therapy may seem daunting,...
Being a pediatric oncology social worker, I recognize the difficulty and struggle associated with openly talking to children about illness, side effects, and treatments. For some parents the struggle is too much and they avoid talking to their children, leaving a young child’s wonderful imagination to run wild. I was recently talking to a young adult brain tumor survivor who had...
Last week I had a conversation with a parent about the difficulty in getting young adult brain tumor survivors involved in groups. I have been working with young adults for a couple of decades and know the challenges such as groups can feel too clinical, the location and time have to match their schedule, and the lack of appeal of “group therapy” can all be barriers. I also know the...
Perceptions that our society has regarding people with disabilities are often extremely inaccurate. A person with a speech impairment may be treated as if they’re not capable of understanding basic information even though the difficulty lies in them expressing things that they already know, and not their understanding of the actual knowledge. People with physical handicaps are...
I recently read an article about a 51 year old brain tumor survivor currently living in Los Angeles who enjoys drumming. Idris Hester was diagnosed with his first tumor in 1970 and experienced a reoccurrence 3 times.
When a child is diagnosed with a brain tumor, families and friends often rally around the child and encourage the family to seek out any resources, services, and treatments that are available. At times this can lead families to take drastic measures they would typically not make. Recently, an episode of 60 Minutes featured a story about an American doctor in Ecuador who is selling...
CBTF is currently in the midst of planning our Tri-State 5K walk. Currently we are looking for team captains to help us organize walkers, raise funds for CBTF, and to create awareness for pediatric brain tumors. We have a scheduled meeting for our Long Island participants on Thursday January 12that 7pm. If you, your family, and/or your friends are interested in being a team...
Many of you who are avid Facebook users like myself, may have seen a recent post circulating that says: “Mattel should make a Barbie with no hair so that every girl fighting cancer feels beautiful! Put her in pink, name her HOPE and send the proceeds to St. Jude. Post this if you agree, I bet 99% of you won’t.” This post seems to have created a variety of opinions around...
