Betrayed by Your Own Body

The statistical information about brain tumors is certainly important, but I want to touch on the personal side for a moment. The courageous souls who have suffered with all types of cancer must have felt at some point betrayed by their own bodies, probably even taken hostage. And no one feels that more than brain cancer patients. While the diagnosis of cancer and the resulting symptoms are devastating regardless of the type of cancer, people suffering with malignant brain tumors must deal with the reality that their particular cancer inhabits and affects the epicenter of not only their body, but the core of who they are. And until each of us encounters a sudden problem with the functioning of our brain, we take for granted all that the brain controls.

Put yourself in their shoes for a moment and imagine that you suddenly experience:

• Becoming paralyzed
• No longer knowing what you are doing within your own environment (your consciousness)
• No longer being in control your emotional responses
• Not remembering simple habits or how to do simple things (like walking or eating or brushing your teeth)
• Not being able to plan a sequence of movements needed to complete a task (like making coffee)
• Drastic changes in your personality
• Not being able to do basic problem solving
• Difficulty with eye-hand coordination
• Difficulty drawing objects or writing
• Not being able to distinguish left from right
• Lack of awareness of body parts
• Trouble with your vision – imagine not being able to SEE
• Not being able to recognize words or objects
• Not being able to recognize colors
• Visual hallucinations
• Trouble hearing – imagine not being able to HEAR
• Trouble with short-term memory (what you had for breakfast or where you were yesterday)
• Difficulty recognizing faces
• Problems with long-term memory (WHO people are, your LIFE history)
• Difficulty breathing, swallowing
• Uncontrolled problems with blood pressure and temperature
• Sleep problems
• Dizziness
• Difficulty talking and forming words
• Loss of ability to walk, or difficulty with balance
• Tremors
• Trouble reaching out and grabbing objects

My heart goes out to the people who have had brain tumors and the suffering (both physical & emotional) that they and their families have endured.

For more information click here: Centre for Neuro Skills