Brain Tumor: The Fight for Life

Introduction
I.

Ever single day while we endeavor in daily routines, which are part of our life and are done
with little thought about them.

II.

At some point during their daily routines, somewhere, someone will wake up with a blinding
headache that will stop them from performing those daily routines.

III.

Unbearable headache following of a feeling of nausea will indicate the presence of a serious
disease.

IV.

Anyone around you can be affected by this unusual headache, symptomatic of a brain tumor.

V.

Every single year 190 000 persons will be diagnosed with brain tumor.

Body
I.

There are no known causes that would help us avoid brain cancer.
A. One proposed theory is that a genetic predisposition can make us vulnerable to brain
cancer.
B. Evidence from incidence of brain tumor among those suffering of genetic diseases has
provided support to this theory.

II.

II.

However, certain factors are associated to brain tumor appearance.

A.

Males are more affected than women.

B.

White people are more susceptible to brain tumor than people from any other race.

C.

Senior citizens are more susceptible to brain tumor than younger individuals.

There are two basic types of brain tumors.

A.

Primary tumors originate in the central nervous system. They can be either benign
or malign.

B.

Secondary tumors originate somewhere else in the body and spread out. They are
always malignant.

C.
III.

Brain Tumors are responsible for 13 000 death every year.

Surgery is the main treatment for fighting brain tumors.

A.
B.

Removal is long and painstaking, aiming to stop a reappearance of cancer cells.

Basic neurosurgical techniques have an ancestor in trepanation, the grandfather of
modern craniotomy. Evidence of trepanation has been found in pre-Inca civilization,
Egypt and Asia.

C.

IV.

Modern techniques aim to minimize neurological damage and recovery time.

Side effects of brain tumors can be devastating, even survivors suffer lifelong damages.
A.
B.

Changes range from memory loss to personality changes.

Some people experience an increase in creativity, and even develop skills that they

C.

did not previously have.

Damages to specific lobes or hemispheres produce different impairment.
i.
Right hemisphere is the creative hemisphere. Damage to this region
ii.

decreases our critical thinking functions.

Left hemisphere is the logical hemisphere. Damage to this region affects
speech and mathematical skills.

Conclusion
I.

Human brain remains a medical mystery, which influences the availability of resources to
fight diseases within it.

II.

Brain tumors do not enjoy the publicity that they should, taking into consideration the dire
psychological and physical effects it has.

III.

Awareness will continue to be the main weapon to fight this disease and maximize our
chances for survival.