#pediatric brain cancer

[newsies-lodging-house]

Big news.

I never planned to be open about this here, but I just got the biggest news of my life and I just need to share.

I was diagnosed with stage 2 brain cancer when I was eleven years old. I started rapidly going blind and was in chemotherapy until I turned 13. They stopped treating me after my right eye completely lost vision because they couldn't do anything else for me. When I finally got out of chemotherapy I had to get MRI's every 3 months for four years an until they switched to annually. I was told that it could and likely would come back and that it may become terminal.

Today I met with my specialists and they told me I was officially in remission. I don't have any more appointments, no MRI's, no more blood work, no more tests, and no more surgeries. I lost almost eight years of my life to cancer and now I'm finally getting to take them back. I'm officially a survivor. At 18 years old.

I officially beat cancer.

To the two of my exes who told me they hoped my cancer came back and wished death on me? Fuck you. Fuck you for everything. I beat cancers ass and there's nothing you can do about it. You can't take that away from me.

[supernerdninja]

I Can Attest To The Fact That Brain Tumors Suck, Which Is Why I Go Hard For The Environment

More children die from brain tumors than any other cancer; those who survive must navigate a lifetime of side effects. The Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation (www.curethekids.org/stay-connected) is the largest patient advocacy funder of pediatric brain tumor research and leading champion for families and survivors, providing patients, caregivers, and siblings with information, financial assistance,…

[reasonsforhope]

"In a first-ever human clinical trial, an mRNA cancer vaccine developed at the University of Florida successfully reprogrammed patients’ immune systems to fiercely attack glioblastoma, the most aggressive and lethal brain tumor.

The results in four adult patients mirrored those in 10 pet dog patients suffering from brain tumors whose owners approved of their participation.

The discovery represents a potential new way to recruit the immune system to fight treatment-resistant cancers using an iteration of mRNA technology and lipid nanoparticles, similar to COVID-19 vaccines, but with two key differences: use of a patient’s own tumor cells to create a personalized vaccine, and a newly engineered complex delivery mechanism within the vaccine.

“Instead of us injecting single particles, we’re injecting clusters of particles that are wrapping around each other like onions,” said senior author Elias Sayour, M.D., Ph.D., a UF Health pediatric oncologist who pioneered the new vaccine, which like other immunotherapies attempts to “educate” the immune system that a tumor is foreign.

“These clusters alert the immune system in a much more profound way than single particles would.”

Among the most impressive findings was how quickly the new method spurred a vigorous immune-system response to reject the tumor, said Sayour, principal investigator at the University’s RNA Engineering Laboratory and McKnight Brain Institute investigator who led the multi-institution research team.

“In less than 48 hours, we could see these tumors shifting from what we refer to as ‘cold’—very few immune cells, very silenced immune response—to ‘hot,’ very active immune response,” he said.

“That was very surprising given how quick this happened, and what that told us is we were able to activate the early part of the immune system very rapidly against these cancers, and that’s critical to unlock the later effects of the immune response,” he explained in a video (below).

Glioblastoma is among the most devastating diagnoses, with median survival around 15 months. Current standard of care involves surgery, radiation and some combination of chemotherapy.

The new report, published May 1 in the journal Cell, is the culmination of seven years of promising studies, starting in preclinical mouse models.

In the cohort of four patients, genetic material called RNA was extracted from each patient’s own surgically removed tumor, and then messenger RNA (mRNA)—the blueprint of what is inside every cell, including tumor cells—was amplified and wrapped in the newly designed high-tech packaging of biocompatible lipid nanoparticles, to make tumor cells “look” like a dangerous virus when reinjected into the bloodstream to prompt an immune-system response.

The vaccine was personalized to each patient with a goal of getting the most out of their unique immune system...

While too early in the trial to assess the clinical effects of the vaccine, the patients either lived disease-free longer than expected or survived longer than expected. The 10 pet dogs lived a median of 4.5 months, compared with a median survival of 30-60 days typical for dogs with the condition.

The next step, with support from the Food and Drug Administration and the CureSearch for Children’s Cancer foundation, will be an expanded Phase I clinical trial to include up to 24 adult and pediatric patients to validate the findings. Once an optimal and safe dose is confirmed, an estimated 25 children would participate in Phase 2."

-via Good News Network, May 11, 2024

-video via University of Florida Health, May 1, 2024

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

We have a serious problem

Michael Laidlaw, MD: I'm a board-certified endocrinologist, practicing in private practice for the last 16 years. I've been studying and publishing in this area for the last 5 years, including peer reviewed journals such as Journal of of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, and others. I also have a patient who is a detransitioner.

I think it's important to note that studies are shown that desistance, or growing out of this condition, of children by adulthood is very high. It's some 50-98%.

I want to be sure before I give someone a very powerful hormone like Insulin that they in fact have diabetes.

What about cancer? Before we give any powerful agents such as chemotherapeutics or surgeries, we certainly want to have physical evidence of this problem, such as biopsies or imaging.

Now, the gender affirmative therapy treatment proposed by WPATH gives very powerful hormones and surgeries on what basis? Where can we find the gender identity to be certain that these children will not desist by adulthood? Can we use imaging of the brain or blood tests, genetic testing, are there other biomarkers to ensure that we are correct? There is no such thing.

Julia Mason, MD: The Endocrine Society put out guidelines in 2017, and they were very careful in the guidelines. One, to point out that the evidence was of low and very low quality. And they also said in the guidelines that they have no idea how you identify which kids are trans and require this treatment.

And then the American Academy of Pediatrics the next year just leapt into that void and said, oh, oh, we'll tell you how you know which kids. You ask them.

Prior to 2018 I had maybe one trans patient. But then there was another one. And another one. And another one.

It wasn't until later that I started asking questions like, wait, every single kid I send to the gender clinic gets put on puberty blockers or cross-sex hormones. Just, it was happening immediately.

Patrick Hunter, MD: This affirmative model of care has spread wildly in the last 8 years. Now we have objective, unbiased systematic reviews. These systematic reviews tell us the evidence for youth transition is poor quality, and with very low certainty for benefit.

In JAMA Pediatrics, there was a study reported from Northwestern University in Chicago. Patients ranged in age from 13 to 24 years. The authors concluded that mastectomy was beneficial and should not be delayed in youth. What lead them to that conclusion? The finding that 3 months after surgery, the 36 patients were happy with their flat chests. They lost 9% of their surgical cases to follow-up. Nine percent. In 3 months.

It is absurd, meaningless to draw any conclusions after 3 months.

This paper is indicative of the quality of research we have in this field, published in our most prestigious journals.

We have a serious problem.

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week - June 13, 2023

1. U.S. judge blocks Florida ban on care for trans minors in narrow ruling, says ‘gender identity is real’

A federal judge temporarily blocked portions of a new Florida law that bans transgender minors from receiving puberty blockers, ruling Tuesday that the state has no rational basis for denying patients treatment.

Transgender medical treatment for minors is increasingly under attack in many states and has been subject to restrictions or outright bans. But it has been available in the United States for more than a decade and is endorsed by major medical associations.

2. Eagle Who Thought Rock Was an Egg Finally Gets to Be a Dad

A week after their introduction the cage where the little eaglet was put, was removed so the two could interact more closely. When they were given food, a whole fish for Murphy and bite-sized pieces for his young charge, rather than each eating their separate dish, Murphy took his portion and ripped it up to feed to the baby.

3. Little penguins to reclaim Tasmanian car park as city-based population thrives

Not far from the centre of Tasmania's fourth largest city, a colony of the world's smallest penguins has been thriving, and their habitat is about to expand into an existing car park.

The bright lights and loud noises of Burnie have not been a deterrent for hundreds of penguins who set up home on the foreshore in the north-west Tasmanian city.

4. Latest population survey yields good news for endangered vaquita porpoise

The resilient little vaquita marina appears determined to survive the illegal fishing that has brought it dangerously close to extinction, according to the latest population survey. Despite an estimated annual decline of 45% in 2018, the endangered porpoise appears to be holding steady over the last five years, according to a report published Wednesday by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

5. 'Extinct' butterfly species reappears in UK

The species, previously described as extinct in Britain for nearly 100 years, has suddenly appeared in countryside on the edge of London. Small numbers of black-veined whites have been spotted flying in fields and hedgerows in south-east London. First listed as a British species during the reign of King Charles II, they officially became extinct in Britain in 1925.

This month they have mysteriously appeared among their favourite habitat: hawthorn and blackthorn trees on the edge of London, where I and other naturalists watched them flitting between hedgerows.

6. Colombian is a hero in Peru: he rescued 25 puppies that were about to die in a fire

During a structural fire that occurred in a residential area of ​​Lima in Peru, a young Colombian became a hero. The Colombian, identified as Sebastián Arias, climbed onto the roof where the puppies were and threw them towards the community, that was waiting for them with sheets and mattresses. "I love them, dogs fascinate me," said the young man.

7. World-first trial for pediatric brain cancer

Researchers in Australia are conducting a world-first clinical trial for children diagnosed with ependymoma, a rare and devastating brain cancer. The trial aims to test a new drug called Deflexifol, which combines chemotherapy drugs 5-FU and leucovorin, offering potentially less toxic and more effective treatment compared to current options.

Ependymoma is the third most common brain tumor in children, and current treatments often lead to relapses, with a high fatality rate for those affected. The trial, led by researcher David Ziegler at the Kids Cancer Centre, has received support from the Kids with Cancer Foundation and the Cancer Institute NSW. The goal is to find a cure for every child diagnosed with ependymoma.

----

That's it for this week :)

This newsletter will always be free. If you liked this post you can support me with a small kofi donation:

BUY ME A COFFEE ❤️

Also don’t forget to reblog.

SUBCRIBE HERE for more good news in your inbox

[revscarecrow]

Translation of post:

I was bullshitting when I said I knew what the charity streams were this year. I thought that since one was done for Ukraine, one would possibly for done for Palestine or Israel (I don’t support Israel, I’m just insinuating your friends would). Everyone would most likely have a bad take, because they aren’t as political as you, possibly even being zionists. The pediatric cancer research fund and the Palestine children’s relief fund have the same acronym. Therefore, if they announced the charity stream for the cancer fund with the acronym, everyone would assume it would be for Palestine. I want you to stop being friends with the vinesauce circle, because they probably don’t have very good politics. The only other vinesauce related person to have ever done anything with Palestine stuff (to my knowledge) was Gpm, and that time it was apparently an accident. I’m not expecting a charity stream for Palestine, nor am I expecting any of them to speak about it, because I feel like they would all have bad takes. You do not need to tell them to do anything. But I generally feel like you shouldn’t be friends with any of them, because I feel they’re not leftist enough. Besides, from what I remember, Joel set up the Ukraine thing (I might be extremely wrong) and since he is from europe, he probably did it because he felt threatened by russia.

tldr: I think your friends are probably zionists. Tbh, until they show otherwise, I believe that most content creators/Jewish people are.

Alright I gave this another go this morning and I'll give you a hot tip. This shit does make more sense when sober. Evil until proven otherwise is an wild purity test. Assuming all Jewish people support Isreal is also a hell of a take. Not being friends with people because they don't do thier job just like me is also a fucked up take. It's a really really bad move financially to talk the way I do. 1. Because gamers are only political when it regards titty censorship or the occasional shitty boycott (until the next big announcement happens). 2. It also pisses people off who agree with me because they might know I'm right and have been dealing with it and fighting the good fight and now when they come home to relax I'm also talking about it as well. Sometimes people just want to turn off their brains and for good reason. Activist burn out is real. So this thing I do is a really bad idea in general but I'm the type of person who can't shut up so I do it anyway. That doesn't mean that everyone has the same view point on how to do this streaming YouTube thing. It just means that's how I do it. Watch who you want for whatever reason you want but don't tell me who to be friends with or how to do my job and expect me to follow your directives.

[ask-head-of-oncology]

OC Introduction Post!!!

Dr. Francesca Scott

Head of Oncology at PPTH (after Wilson leaves in S8)

Birthday February 15, 1976, 36 years old

Cisgender, currently questioning her sexuality, she/they

6 foot, 4 inches tall

Hazel eyes

Mid-shoulder length, thick, curly black hair

Vascular birthmark on the right side of her body, has a few patches on their face, neck, torso, arms, and legs, with the majority of the birthmark concentrated on her hands and feet

Jewish

Distantly related to Cuddy, Francesca's mother is Cuddy's cousin

Backstory

Francesca is an only child. She grew up with a lot of pressure put on her by her parents to succeed academically. Because of this pressure put on her her entire childhood, Francesca feels that if she is not succeeding at everything in life, she is failing the people that she loves.

Francesca was diagnosed with a brain tumor at six. The tumor was at an inoperable size, so she underwent chemo to try and shrink the tumor. After her chemo plan ended, the tumor was still at an inoperable size. The doctors estimated that she only had a year left to live. One of her doctors convinced her parents to try chemo for just a bit longer, and after this it was discovered that the tumor had miraculously shrunk to an operable size. The doctors were able to remove the tumor, and after more chemo and radiation therapy, she was declared cancer-free. Francesca has now been in remission for 30 years. It was because of this experience that Francesca decided to become a pediatric oncologist.

They have officially been nicknamed "Wilson" at the hospital because they share many of Wilson's little mannerisms, and because they have also been married three times. Her first husband was abusive, and she divorced him after he hit her for the first time. Her second husband was the love of her life, but he died in the same car crash where Haven (he's my other OC who she's in a QPR with) lost his leg. Her third husband didn't want kids, and Francesca divorced him when she discovered that he had been cheating on him.

She was diagnosed with depression after her second husband died and Haven lost her leg in the car crash. They had depression before this point, but the crash pushed it past the point where she was normally able to deal with it. However, she often forgets to take her antidepressants due to the chaotic nature of her job.

Francesca wants to be a mother more than anything. However, she has had a variety of problems with trying to adopt and foster, and she is unable to conceive herself due to infertility caused by her chemo as a child.

Worked as the Head of Pediatric Oncology at another hospital for about three years before coming to work at PPTH.

Profile picture!

[lostfan23]

LOST 2024 AUCTION IS NOW OPEN!

From the website :

Bid Together, Buy Alone! The 2024 Cancer Gets Lost Online Charity Auction is now OPEN! The auction closes on May 18 at 1pm ET, numerically - one at a time! IF an item receives a bid in the final minute it is open, bidding will extended for 2-3 minutes. This will occur up to 3 times before a final bid is declared the winner. *PLEASE read all registration instructions and global shipping restrictions below BEFORE registering. Thank you!*

This auction features rare and signed LOST items, in honor of the 20-year anniversary of the show’s 2004 debut! All auction items have been kindly donated by LOST fans, cast/crew, and creatives. We are also including items adjacent to LOST; rare collectibles from Bad Robot and various shows/projects that the LOST cast have since worked on! 100% of all proceeds from this CGL auction will be donated to the children’s brain cancer charity Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation, the largest patient advocacy funder of pediatric brain tumor research. We selected the PBTF because tragically, pediatric brain cancer is the most commonly diagnosed and deadliest childhood cancer in the United States. The money raised in this auction will make an actual difference in the lives of children with brain cancer (and their families), from diagnosis through treatment and beyond. Registration for the Cancer Gets Lost 2024 Online Charity Auction is open, and you may register any time from now until the final hours of the auction.

IF you live outside of the United States, your auction registration will be set as “Pending” until we have the chance to discuss the very high shipping & customs costs with you. Please scroll down to read the international shipping rules and restrictions before attempting to register for our auction, and then contact us (CGLauctions at gmail dot com). **IMPORTANT: Please register to bid using an email account that you actually check and use! It has become a challenging issue for us after charity auctions when we are unable to contact a few winning bidders because they never actually check the email they registered with!

READ THE FULL INSTRUCTIONS HERE.

[intermundia]

@ anon with the lovely hospital AU, apologies for the delay i was chewing on this for a couple days haha there's a whole season of grey's anatomy primetime soap worthy material. i love how fully you've filled out the AU with characters and unspooled all the drama. i can see why it would be difficult to write, it does have a big scope of imagination there. thank you for sharing it with meeeeeee

for everyone 700 words of lovely obikin hospital AU worldbuilding, continued beneath the cut!!

Shmi is a renowned heart surgeon. Best there is in the country (not just the state thank you very much) and she did it all while her son was young. Her grandmother (Grandma Mira) and her two cousins (Peli Moto and Beru Whitesun ) both helped her out a ton. She is admired and Skywalker is a name very well known in medical circles.

She decided to became a heart surgeon when her own mother (insert name here) died from a heart issue that no one wanted to touch surgically. Anakin was 9 years old. Anakin has his mom up on a pedestal - she is perfect and smart, the best surgeon, the best mom, she’s done it all. Anakin feels the pressure to be just as good as his mom. People expect him to be just as brilliant and successful as his mother. He expects it from himself. Shmi just wants him to be happy. Anakin is ready to start his residency at 25. His mother is in line to be chief of surgery at the hospital she works at (Twin Suns Medical Center). Its considered the hospital to intern at if you want your specialty to be heart surgery. Anakin isn’t really sure what he wants to specialize in, and he doesn’t want people to say that he got it easy during his internship. So he goes to the next best thing (it’s actually the number one hospital overall in the country but to Anakin is second to the hospital where shmi works because Shmi works there). He goes to Jedi Coruscant General Hospital. Chief Executive officer (in charge of whole hospital) : Breha Organa Chief of Surgery : Bail Organa (general surgeon) Brain Surgeon (top brain guy in the country) : Obi-Wan Kenobi 4th year resident: Padme Amidala (Anakin’s assigned resident) Heart Surgeon: Mace Windu Trauma Surgeon: Shaak Ti Pediatric Surgeon: Plo Koon Neonatal Surgeon: Siri Tachi Plastic Surgeon: Quinlan Vos Orthopedic Surgeon: Qui-Gon Jinn Head of the hospital board: Mon Mothma Cancer surgeon: Jocosta Nu Eye Surgeon: Dooku Vascular Surgeon: Wolffe Yoda - retired chief of surgery and general surgeon Anakin’s cohort: Aayla, Ferus Olin, Rex, Jesse, Echo, Fives 4th Year Residents: Sabe, Clovis, Bly 5th year residents: Depa Billaba, Bultar Swan, Cody Anakin’s running late on his first day, in the parking lot he’s too distracted trying to make sure he has everything in his bag that he bumps into a red head and spills the red head’s hot tea all of his shirt. “shit. Fuck. Sorry. Sorry.” Keeps walking but turns around to walk backwards to meet the really pretty blue eyes of the definitely pissed off red head “I owe you. I’ll bring you a … a coffee? Was it coffee during lunch. Sorry!” Ferus Olin, a childhood nemesis makes his appearance. He’s assigned to be Padme’s intern (the woman who gave him back his engagement ring when he was 22 and 27. He hadn’t realized she was back in town and that maybe it was purposeful that he didn’t know). Its turning out to be a truly shit day and then the pretty red head from the parking lot makes his appearance and anakin wants to sink into the ground. But. The red head picks him to help him with a surgery. … Its pretty much a grey’s anatomy AU. Obi-Wan and anakin start hooking up pretty much immediately. Ferus Olin and Anakin make nice and turn out to be pretty decent friends. Then. Anakin realizes that Padme had kids, with him. The twins. And never told him. 🤯. That’s smoothed over. He’s a dad now. He loves it. Obi-Wan’a supportive. Their secret relationship is starting to not be so secret anymore. Then. obi-wan’s ex wife (Satine Kryze) pop in with a kid. obi-wan’s kid. Obi-Wan never told him that he’d been married or that he had a kid. They break up. Anakin thinks about quitting. Then about transferring. Then gets side tracked because Aunt Beru (his mom’s cousin) got married and her husband’s dad was in a bad car crash. Its all hands on deck to save his life. Shmi makes an appearance at the hospital and Obi-Wan realizes that Anakin is Shmi’s son 🤯 Owen’s dad makes it. Anakin and Obi-Wan make up. Their relationship is outted but everything works out. There’s other small and big dramas but thats pretty much it lol

[eugeniedanglars]

sorry i'm sure this has been discussed many times but it's still pure fucking lunacy that connor and kameron realized they needed a sperm donor and instead of going to an actual sperm bank they went "you know who we should ask to be the biological father of our child? connor's old frat roommate who he picked up in a random bar in peru on spring break and hasn't spoken to in like five years, which incidentally is before he found out he had a family history of pediatric cancer. after all, all that matters when picking a genetic donor for our child is that he's a good person, which as we all know is a genetically heritable trait." these characters and the writers who came up with this storyline need their brains studied fr

[edgessunflower]

Shared

Pairing: Amelia Shepherd x Fem reader

Description: You and Amelia share the same experience of surviving cancer and being the reason that it brought you together

Amelia tears up seeing pictures of you during your cancer treatment a year back before the two of you met and got together ten months back after moving to Seattle from Long Island after getting a better job opportunity. You fit right in at Grey Sloan Memorial in the pediatric unit primarily looking after and treating special needs children from blind and deaf to autistic and physically disabled children you made sure to make them smile and help them even more than you had to, amelia was drawn to you ever since she first saw you with one of your patients with autism smiling at the sweet interaction before officially meeting each other a few hours later and hit it off with each other from that moment on and becoming fast friends over two months before feelings slowly developed over time which your shared friends definitely picked up on and got involved in to a degree to push the two of you together over four months. The two of you knew of the other's experience with cancer with amelia having a Meningioma brain tumor and you having breast cancer leading to a double mastectomy that left you scarred on your chest which you always made sure to keep covered, she felt every emotion and ounce of pain through the pictures of you throughout your journey of breast cancer leading her to slowly tell you her journey of having, discovering, and getting the tumor removed before pulling you into her arms while both of you openly sobbed with no other words being said about what either of you went through from treatment as the two of you ate dinner and held each other tightly with a new and added sense of understanding to each other and being brought even closer due to your experiences with the curse of cancer.

[arithecreatorsstuff]

Things You Should Never Say To a Chronic Illness Survivor

This is a list of things that are just not cool to say to anybody with a chronic condition. I have fibromyalgia, which is a very complicated way of saying everything hurts, and no one knows why. I've heard most of this crap first hand. Seriously, y'all know this stuff doesn't help, knock it off.

"You don't look sick." Uh, yeah. Invisible illness doesn't outwardly advertise. While we may not look sick, you look like an ass saying that. 0/10, please stop.

"You're too young to be sick." You say that to a pediatric cancer patient? No? Then realize sickness can hit at any age. Another 0/10, stop it.

"It can't be that bad, you're always smiling." Here's the thing... most of us in this hellboat do not, surprisingly, like to be seen when we're not on our game, and we honestly want to just die. Unless you, like a certain very fictional SCP Foundation Doctor, can swap bodies at will, you have no freaking clue how anyone else feels. -10/10, say it again and we can and will find someone to smack the stupid out of you on our behalf.

"Are you still sick/are you better yet/you still haven't recovered yet?" Uh, yeah. Chronic illness doesn't just vanish. Supremely unhelpful, hurtful, and the next person who asks me this personally will find out I can still bitchslap with the best of them. -11/10, delete this query from your vocabulary.

"You can't always be in this much pain." No, some days are even WORSE. And the stress from dealing with unbelievers stings as much as our illnesses. Again, spend an hour in our bodies, you'll sing a new tune. -9/10, if you don't know, don't judge.

"You're just miserable." No shit, asshole. We're in pain all the time. If we complain, 9 times out of 10, we're not bullshitting you. Trust us. If we don't complain, it still hurts. For some of us it even hurts more to complain all the time. -20/10, say this one more time, we dare you.

"Have you tried (insert treatment/supplement/exercise here)?" Uh, probably. But not everything works for everybody. And some exercises just make it worse. 0/10, stop it.

"You just need therapy." While therapy helps deal with the condition, it WILL NOT FIX A GODSDAMNED CHEMICAL IMBALANCE/PHYSICAL DEFORMITY IN YOUR BRAIN BY ITSELF. You wouldn't say this to a person with a brain tumor, quit saying it to us. -11/10, do your research and learn something.

"Try to reduce stress." Uh... my body is the PRIMARY SOURCE of my stress, as it decided it hates me. So, unless you got a spare meatsuit behind your desk, this is just useless. -20/10, quit it.

"I know how you feel." No, no you do not, not unless you're trapped in your own circle of this particular hell. -25/10, this WILL result in me punching the offender if I hear this one more damn time.

"You're faking it/Fibromyalgia doesn't exist/you're just trying to get attention." Yeah, because being in CONSTANT UNBEARABLE AGONY 24/7/365 is just soo much fun. Look, no one really believed in radiation before the Curies, but it exists, and can be proven. Unlike the so-called intelligence of the idiot saying this. -30/10, if you think this, would you kindly stay the fuck away from us, as you're just a fool.

"You'll feel better after a good sleep." Assuming our bodies even let us, which is rare. And for me at least, I think the last good sleep I had was getting my gallbladder out, not that it helped. 0/10, just shove it.

"You'll feel worse in a few years." Really? Cause I legit want to die now. -1000/10, if you get the urge to say this, punch yourself in the eye and save us the trouble.

"Try (insert whatever diet here), it'll help." Not always an option on a fixed income, my dudes.

"There are people worse off than you." This pisses me off on two levels. One, comparing traumas/illnesses doesn't do much. Two, this is true for almost everybody. -250/10, mean, rude, and simply unhelpful.

"Everybody feels like that." ALL THE TIME? No? Then stfu. -1000/10, again, feel the urge to say this, punch yourself in the eye and save us the trouble.

"You're no fun anymore." Neither is our illness. -10/10.

"Why can't you just snap out of it?" DID YOU REALLY FUCKING THINK WE HAVEN'T TRIED THAT, YOU IDIOT? Chronic illness does not work like that AT ALL. -2000/10, never say this.

"Have you tried losing/gaining weight?" It makes very little difference. -10/10, shut up and mind your business instead of our waistlines.

"You're not really trying to get better." Yes, yes we are. And this doesn't do anything but anger us. The very notion we like being this way implies just how dumb people can be. -1000/10, just stop this crap.

[mysicklove]

is there a specific, or multiple medical fields / specialities you’re interested in?

I LOVE THIS QUESTION !!!!

thinking dermatology, pediatrics, oncology, or psychiatry (ranked in order of how interested i am in them)

dermatology: pros-best work/life ratio out of all of these fields. one of the highest paid doctors. i would do beauty dermotology most likely which is huge in california (where i live lol) and my dream is to open my own clinic!! supposedly one the happiest doctors. plus i like pimple popping lolol. i have wanted to be this since i was like 11 years old. cons-so so so so so so competetive. like i heard it is super hard to match into derm. its supposedly rlly hard residency too.

pediatrics: pros-kids!! i love kids!!!, noncompetetive residency match, decent work balance life. cons-one of the least paying doctors, parents are INSANE about their kids, i wont be able to hyperfocus on a organ to treat, i would just have broad info unless i complete a fellowship

oncology: pros-cancer is SOOOO interesting to me. like i would want to be a researcher more than a doctor tbh. lots of connectiions with patients cons-death. lots n lots of death and idk if i can deal with that. also could be out of a job if the cure for cancer does exist

psychiatry: pros-psychology is super interesting to me. i love the patient aspect of it all too. i have been told that i am a really good with working with ppl, and its high in face to face conversations. if i did go into this field, i would want to do research on the effects of psilocybin mushrooms on the brain and how microdosing actually helps with depression! there is very little research on it, but my aunt got perscribed this when she was depressed from canada and it helped. so thats intruiging to me. cons-lowest paid like i think out of all fields. i think i may crave working with my hands after awile. just not as interesting to me, i think i may do psilocybin reasearch as an undergrad to get into medical school

if anyone is a doctor or in medschool n sees any mistakes/misconceptins in this list, please please please let me know!! i have no connections to any doctors so this is all from online research. oh n any doctors/medschool students want to share experiences/anything with me i will litterally eat it up

ok sorry im rambling u did not ask for this LOL i just got exicted

[shawnbulter]

It is with a very heavy heart that we share the Butler’s were given devastating life changing news..again. However, this time they were not being told their sweet baby Emme was sick. This time they were being told their vibrant, sassy, beautiful, smart, larger than life 6 year old daughter Lexi has a brain tumor. Unfortunately, Lexi already watched her baby sister fight cancer and is well aware of all the awful things cancer does, she is now fighting her own battle. After finishing up a fun Fall season filled with school, soccer games, dance classes, and time spent with family and friends Amanda started to notice some very subtle changes in Lexi. As days went on Amanda couldn't shake this nagging feeling and brought Lexi to the ER. Their lives came to a crashing halt a few days before Thanksgiving when doctors found a brain tumor at the base of Lexi’s skull. Within hours Lexi was in the operating room. After a long risky surgery Shawn and Amanda were given the news that the surgeon was able to resect the entire tumor. As joyous as this news was, they quickly learned they were being struck by lightning for the second time- Lexi’s tumor was cancerous and was later diagnosed with Medulloblastoma.

As many of you know, Shawn and Amanda have already once been told that their child has cancer. Just about 3.5 years ago Lexi’s younger sister Emme, was just six months old when she was diagnosed with stage IV high risk Neuroblastoma. Today, Emme is a healthy and happy four year old, now cheering on her big sister. Emme will complete her own treatment this coming August in New York City!

Lexi was immediately admitted to the ICU and underwent emergency brain surgery and has completed 6 weeks of radiation to her brain and spine. They are now gearing up for what we hope to be the last leg of Lexi’s cancer journey, 4 rounds of high dose chemotherapy. They expect the next several months will be very straining on Lexi and will include lengthy hospital admissions, but have the highest hopes Lexi will remain cancer free.

Pediatric cancer is the worst kind of torture, no family should have to go through this battle once, never mind twice. Their community has generously rallied behind the Butlers once before, we ask if you can, to help them out again. We hope to relieve some of the exorbitant financial burden that cancer puts on families but also hoping to allow Shawn to be home with the girls and focus on Lexi and her recovery!

With sincere gratitude,

Megan Bernazz

[currentlyfckingurmom]

Her Song part 23

The doctor came back an hour later. This time, there is someone else with him. A woman with brown hair and a white lab coat.

"Ms. Y/L/N," he starts, closing the door behind him and the other doctor. "We've come to discuss treatment options. This is Dr. Shepherd, a world-class neurosurgeon. I've asked her to discuss the surgical option with you. Is that alright?"

I nod, swallowing my nerves. By now it's ten pm, and Florence is asleep in the chair next to me and Syd is sound asleep in the hospital bed. I'm the only one who can't seem to fall asleep.

"Would you like your partner to be awake for this?" Dr. Shepherd asks quietly, pulling up a chair to sit across from me. I glance down at Florence and I's intertwined hands and debate correcting her assumption, but ultimately just shake my head.

"No, it's alright."

"Okay, Ms. Y/L/N-"

"Y/N. You can just call me Y/N."

"Okay. Y/N," she says with a small smile, "I'm not going to lie to you. I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. This is gonna be tough. It's gonna be hell, but I'm gonna try my damnedest to get your daughter through this."

"Thank you. So," I breathe, subconsciously squeezing Flo's hand a little tighter. "What are the options?"

"First I need to explain the reason this kind of tumor is so hard to treat. The cancerous cells grow into the healthy ones, so it's impossible to remove them all with surgery."

"Does that mean surgery is off the table?"

"No, not necessarily. We could try to fight it with radiation and/or chemotherapy. But with Sydney's age...that poses some risks. In my professional opinion, I think our best move is surgery, followed by chemo. I'll perform surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible, and then as soon as she's healed enough, we'll begin chemo treatments to get the rest of the cancerous cells."

I take a deep breath and swallow my hesitation. "Then that's what we'll do. I trust your judgment, Dr. Shepherd."

"Okay. I'll come back tomorrow with our head pediatric surgeon. Until then, try and get some rest." She gives me a small smile and stands up. The neurologist follows her out of the room and closes the door without saying a word.

I breathe deeply and fail to keep the tears from falling. I don't know what I'll do if I lose Syd.

~

I wake up to a bright light shining in my eyes. I groan, blinking to adjust to the sunlight piercing through the windows. I check my phone. 6am. The sun is just now rising. I'm not sure how long I slept, but it couldn't have been more than a couple of hours.

Sure enough, Flo and Syd are still sound asleep. I quietly stand up, but Florence stirs anyway. "Where are you going?" she asks groggily, rubbing her eyes.

"I was just gonna go to the bathroom," I say, pointing to the bathroom attached to the room.

"Oh. Ok. I'm gonna go get us some actual food. I can't stand this hospital crap," she grumbles, standing up.

"Okay," I laugh lightly. "Thank you, Flo."

"It's nothing. Will you be alright?"

"Yeah. I'll see you soon."

"See you soon," she promised with a wink before leaving the room.

FLORENCE'S POV:

I walk through the hospital with my head down, hoping for Syd and Y/N's sake that I don't get recognized.

As I walk down the busy streets of New York towards a small bakery, I decide I should probably call my manager and let him know why I fell off the face of the Earth.

It rings a few times before he picks up. "Hello?"

"Hey, George, it's Florence."

"Yes, I know, I have caller ID. Mind telling me why you canceled on Vogue? That photoshoot was a big deal, Florence. You can just walk away from something like that."

"I know it was a big deal but I had something personal I needed to do. Which brings me to my next point...I don't think I'll be available to work for a while."

He—understandably—sighs in frustration. "And why is that? I'm gonna need an actual explanation."

"My...friend's daughter is in the hospital. She has brain cancer. I need to be there for them."

He remains silent for a moment. "Is this the same friend you haven't stopped talking about?"

"George, it's complicated."

"I know. I know, and I understand that. Your life is yours and you can do with it what you want, but just be careful, Florence. We can't deal with the PR nightmare of you being spotted in a hospital getting cozy with a random woman."

"She's not a random woman," I snap defensively.

"You're right, I'm sorry. But you get my point. Just be careful. And you can't avoid work entirely. You may have to come in a few times."

I sigh, knowing that's as good as it will get. "Okay, fine. I have to go. Thank you, George."

We exchange our goodbyes and I head into the bakery to get some food.

When I get back to the hospital, I expect Y/N to be sitting in the hospital room. But she's not. When I reach Syd's room, she's pacing outside with her hands on her head, tears streaming down her face.

I rush over to her and put the bag and coffee on the ground. "Y/N, darling, what's wrong? What happened?" She stumbles over her words, panting heavy breaths. I notice the blinds and door to the room are closed.

I cup her face in my hands and force her to stop pacing. "Look at me. Y/N, look at me. What happened?"

"Syd- she's having a seizure. They're trying to stop it," she chokes out. My heart skips a beat and my stomach fills with dread. I don't know what to do. I don't know what to say. I can't fix this. I can't do anything to help. So I just hold her in my arms and pray to any deity that might be out there to please, save this little girl.

Y/N'S POV:

Florence sways me back in forth in her arms and, surprisingly, it helps calm me down a little bit. I listen to her steady, fast heartbeat and small whispers of sweet words.

After a few more minutes that felt like an eternity and a half, the nurses leave the room. Dr. Shepherd comes out and approaches us with a somber expression. I turn to face her, but Flo still keeps a hand on the small of my back.

"It took longer than I'd like, but we gave her diazepam to stop the seizure. She's asleep for now, but she'll probably wake up in an hour or less. Let a nurse know when she's awake, and I will be back. Okay?"

I nod in understanding and Dr. Shepherd soothingly rubs my arm as she walks away. "Are you ready to go in?" Flo asks. I grab her hand and nod, walking into the room. Pulling a chair up to the side of the bed, I sit down and grab Syd's hand, sniffling. Florence is still standing beside the chair, holding my other hand, so I pull her down to sit on my lap.

I rest my head against her shoulder. Our hands are still joined, resting in Flo's lap. "I can't believe this is happening," I mumble.

"I know it's hard, but we can do this. She's a fighter. And we'll keep her safe, okay?"

The words ring familiar in my mind and I chuckle lightly. "She's our little Satanist."

[kelly4]

My name is Kelly Ann Bjork and I am 29 years old. I grew up in a small town in North Jersey with a beautiful loving older sister and two strong parents. I am a Medulloblastoma cancer survivor, I was diagnosed when I was sixteen and going into my junior year of high school. I finished treatment right as my senior year of high school ended then I took a year off before attending University of Delaware where I was on the executive board for UDance, an incredible organization that fights pediatric cancer. I joined a sorority and had all my sisters do the brain tumor walk.

Medulloblastoma is the cancer that Michael Strahan’s daughter has, Isabella. Throughout my journey, I never met a girl around my age because my brain tumor was most common among young boys. I was treated at the best hospitals in the world including Morgan Stanley in New York, Mass General in Massachusetts and MD Anderson in Texas. I had a doctor in Houston, Texas at MD Anderson that specialized in my rare brain tumor named Doctor Vatz. He was one of the most amazing people I have ever met.

So, I would love nothing more than to have the opportunity to communicate with Isabella and share my story, hoping to relate and comfort her. If anyone could help connect us, I would be forever grateful.