War on Cancer...some battles need reinforcements

There are some cancers that are able to progress unchecked almost, due to lack of awareness and funding for research. Brain cancer and the most highly aggressive form of cancer, Glioblastoma Multiforme is high on that list. Glioblastoma strikes people with little or no warning. There is no self-exam, no better diet to eat, and no real screenings for this, unless with your annual mammogram and colonoscopy, you want to have a brain MRI. Once someone experiences symptoms, it is basically too late. The survival rate of this type of cancer is about 3%. Not many people are very familiar with brain cancer, but it is the disease that took the life of Senator Edward Kennedy. In the United States, however, there are approxiamately 176,000 new cases of brain tumors diagnosed each year. That averages out to be about 482 each day, and what is even more frightening is that the incidence of brain tumors is on the rise. Also not on the radar screen is that brain tumors kill more children under the age of 20 than any other type of cancer. Brain tumors are also the second highest cause of cancer deaths in adult males and the fifth leading cause of cancer deaths in females, between the ages of 20-39. Brain cancer does not discriminate against age, gender, ethnicity, or overall fitness or state of health. Symptoms can be varied and sporadic, so potential diagnoses are often exhausted before a brain tumor is actually targeted.
In recent years, breast cancer and colon cancer have vaulted into the public awareness and great strides have been made in their treatment, giving tremendous hope to people who suffer from those diagnoses. Screening is available, many times without cost. Treatments for brain cancer, however, have seen little progress in the last 25 years, largely due to the gross under funding of research. This is such a devasting disease, because of the real estate it occupies. Removing the tumor, lots of times means loss or diminished vision, speech, senstaion, movement, or cognition. Dealing with that along with the miseries of chemo/radiation therapy is almost indescribable. The incidence of brain cancer is not as high as some of the others....but if it is the one that strikes you or the one you love, it becomes the only cancer. It is a cancer that needs more focus, for it strikes all ages. It would be unconscionable to let another 25 years and generation of people slip by because we turned our heads.