Mobiles VS Tumours

Links between mobile phones and brain tumours has been an on going discussion for as long as I can remember.
When I was young and had just got my first mobile I remember my mum and dad telling me to keep it away from my head as much as possible and only use it for a short amount of time. It's strange to think that at the time warnings of a brain tumour didn't faze me whereas now even the slighest headache scares me.
As a child I don't know if it was ignorance or some scientific geniusness buried deep, deep inside me but I always doubted that they would be dangerous but a recent study has concluded that there is still no conclusion.

Researchers found no association between regular mobile phone use (phoning at least once a week for six months or more) and risk of the brain tumour. However, it did find an increased risk of gliomas with the highest cumulative lifetime call duration (above 896 hours).  

The study didn't take into consideration the fact that people can use other means to communicate such as texting or skyping. But it is worrying to see that only making a phone call once a week has been shown to be safe. I make and recieve phone calls on a daily basis, as did my mum, and now being older and experiencing what I have, it is scary to think that this could be the cause of all my heartbreak. 

My biggest fear now is that I or someone I know should go through what my mum did. It would give myself and other affected a lot of piece of mind to know what causes brain tumours for two reasons:

• We will finally get answers - why did our loved ones get taken away?
• We will know how to prevent others getting a tumour.

However, with brain tumour research still 40-50 years behind that of other cancers it seems like a long wait until we get these answers.

Taken from this article: http://www.nhs.uk/news/2014/05May/Pages/Study-linking-brain-cancer-and-mobiles-inconclusive.aspx

@redwellieslw 
www.redwellies.info

What Would You Do?

I am joined to a forum on Facebook where the family members of a person suffering with GBM can go to talk and ask advice from people who have been in similar situations. While I have never posted on there, it feels less lonely to know that other people have been in the same situation. But it also doubles the heartbreak knowing that there are still thousands of people in the world suffering as my mum did and we're still not much closer to finding a cure.

While browsing through the forum I came across an interesting question. Having been to the Drs with her ill family member, a woman had stayed behind after the appointment to ask the doctor how long was left for them. He replied that there wasn't long. The question was do I tell them how long they have left?

This story probably got my attention as something similar happened with my mum. She had been to her consultation and my aunt had seen in the docotors face that if the next round of chemo didn't work mum wouldn't have long left. I have to check with my aunt, but I believe she told us what she knew but not my mum. I mean, how could you tell someone you love that they don't have long left?

I remember her telling me but I was in such denial that I ingored her (sorry Hayley!). It never even crossed my mind to tell mum, how was I going to tell her she didn't have long left when I didn't even believe it myself. My brothers were in the same boat, I don't know if they realise themselves but all three of us were in so much denial that we just didn't believe anything would happen to her.

My aunty and uncle couldn't tell her. She was there big sister. I've never asked them but I doubt they believed it either. And there was no way my grandparents could say that to their daughter.

But then would mum have wanted to know? We could have asked the Dr to talk to her, but would she actually want to know? Although she had this awful disease she was making the most of life and enjoying every day. Would it have stopped her fight right in it's tracks if we had told her? Would she have been able to take the news?

She very rarely spoke of her illness to me and only ever touched upon the subject of her not being once. So I don't know what she knew, I don't know if she could feel how ill she was or could see in our faces we knew something was up. But I couldn't bare for her to feel any of the fear I was feeling deep inside. If I could have taken all the fear in the world just to make sure she didn't feel any, I would have in a heartbeat.

Maybe she was doing the same. I know she'd have done anything for her family and she'd have taken on the world so we were okay. So maybe we were all hiding one big secret that we all knew.

But if I were going to give this lady advice I'd say don't tell them. I'd rather be making happy memories than having morbid talks. When mum got diagnosed I saw her suddenly get a thirst for life and she was constantly taking us somewhere or planning something. (She always took her camera with her and took photos of every tiny thing. Even them photos are a small comfort, I look at them and see something she enjoyed and wanted to capture).

 In her final week I saw her put up the strongest fight and even then when she was semi conscious she was fighting for her independence. I feel like this conversation would have put a dampner on her spark and maybe have given us even less time with her. What do you all think?

What If...

As a daughter who lost her mother to a brain tumor/brain cancer/GBM this picture has a huge effect on me. What if the president or a Royal or even a celebrity had this diagnosis? Would sufferers still be faced with the terrifying prognosis that they face today? Would my mum have still been here now?

For those of you who don't know, and most of you probably won't unless you've done your research, brain cancer is one of the most underfunded and it recieves LESS THAN 1% of TOTAL cancer research funds. I said you'd have had to have done your research to know this because it's a little known fact and one that makes me very angry!

I wouldn't wish a brain tumour on my worst enemy. I saw how my mum suffered, I heard her groan in pain as the tumour pushed on her brain, I held her hair while she was on her knees with sickness from the chemo, and I tied a scarf around her head when she began to lose her hair. But, I can't help thinking that if a well known figure with power had been through this too then my mum would be alive now. The government would have poured money into research and even if that person hadn't have been saved the money donated to brain cancer charities would have been poured into research and there may be a cure, or at least a life prolonging treatment that would give people hope.

Brain cancer research is still back in the 60s. No major development has been found since then. No medicine that will give a sufferer a real chance at life. At present the average life expectancy for a GBM sufferer is 14 months. If they are lucky enough to be operated on they will get more time, but the ending will always be the same. I'll never understand how money isn't split evenly between cancers and if it weren't for independent charities like ours working to raise research funds brain tumour research would be even further behind than it already is...

www.redwellies.info
@redwelliesLW