A recently-published study has found that a significant proportion of children under the age of three with the brain tumor ependymoma can skip or delay radiotherapy by using chemotherapy without lowering their chances of survival.

This research has taken 12 years to complete and were released in Lancet Oncology in July 2007 by the Children's Cancer and Leukaemia Group at The University of Nottingham in the UK

Radiotherapy can be harmful to a young child's brain, affecting IQ, short term memory, growth and puberty.

According to experts, the survival rate for children with ependymoma is increasing, but still unacceptably low.

Patricia reported earlier this week that movie critic Joel Siegel had died of colon cancer at the age of 63. Unlike almost everyone in North America, I'm not that into movies and though I had heard Siegel's name, I didn't really know much about him. But I wish I did, after watching this video on Siegel's life, his fight with cancer and his undying support for a cause he so firmly believed in; Cancer awareness.

After Siegel's first wife died of brain cancer at a young age, the critic began to talk publicly about cancer, and it's with tragic irony that he passed away from the disease that worked so hard to fight. Siegel's final days were marked with deep regret that he didn't get screened for cancer sooner, as his doctors told him that if he had been tested a mere 3 years earlier, he would have had a much better chance at seeing his young son grow up.

Cancer's lost a brave and powerful spokesperson, and I hope his message and memory lives on for a long time.

So many of the cancer patients I know end up becoming experts not only on cancer in general, but in the specific details of the kind of cancer that has invaded their respective bodies. Are there ways to valiantly fight many types of cancer? You bet there is.

If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with brain cancer, WebMD has published a very good short list of 10 popular questions your doctor or oncologist should be asked. As with any type of cancer, there are no simple questions or simple answers.The devil is in the details here, and becoming informed and showing informed concern for your own condition is mentally one of the healthiest things you can do.

Click here to see what the 10 best questions about brain cancer that can be asked to your physician. These will help prepare you for what is coming (or not coming) and will set you up psychologically for what lies ahead.

I have heard differing stories over the years regarding the safety of artificial sweeteners. In most cases, the arguments center around one that has been around for quite some time now: aspartame. Is it harmful? Is it safe? Has it been shown to cause certain types of cancer (leukemia, lymphoma, brain cancer)? Are the results conclusive? So on and so forth. I actually even remember once hearing that aspartame was harmful for lab mice, but not for humans. Huh?

The confusion, at least it seems, may finally be cleared up, thanks to a study conducted by the National Cancer Institute. After surveying over 340,000 men and 225,000 women from 1995 to 2000, researchers found that the development of any of the three above-mentioned cancers was not any higher in people who regularly consumed aspartame than those who reportedly did not. While survey studies can sometimes produce slightly inaccurate results (due to several factors, including the "testing effect"), these findings appear to be solid.

The Mayo Clinic Cancer Center has opened a new clinical study today using a vaccine strain of the measles virus to attack recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM). The Mayo Clinic's research has grown from the most basic laboratory science to the sophisticated therapy being tested today on several tumor types, including GBM, recurrent ovarian cancer and multiple myeloma.

The study is designed to test the safety of the virus for the treatment of gliomas and enable monitoring of anti-tumor activity. Eligible candidates for the therapy will have GBM that has progressed after surgery and radiation therapy. They also must be immune to measles, either having had the disease or been vaccinated against it.

Many cancer cells, including glioblastoma cells, overexpress a specific protein which allows tumor cells to avoid destruction by the immune system. Strains of the measles virus seek out this protein and enter the tumor. When it enters the virus begins to spread infecting nearby tumor cells which increases cancer cell death.

Back in the1970's it was noted that measles infections could cause regression of cancer tumors in children. Nothing was done about studying this phenomenon until late in the 1990's when the Mayo Clinic Cancer Center's Molecular Medicine Program began looking into it. The researchers are now also looking at ways to use the measles virus to combat breast and pancreatic cancer, they already have plans to open up another clinic study this fall to test the effectiveness of a version of the measles virus on multiple myeloma.

While most are celebrating the new blooms of Spring, my aunt is stocking up on antihistamines for another season of itchy eyes and sneezing. According to University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center researchers, that might not be a bad thing, as allergies and asthma seem to offer protection from the development of brain tumors.

"It appears that allergies and asthma rev up the immune system," said Michael Scheurer, the study's lead author and a postdoctoral fellow in M.D. Anderson's department of epidemiology. "They seem to produce enough inflammation in the brain to keep immune system cells active and working to prevent cancer from beginning to develop." Before I call my aunt to give her the good news though, researchers also said that antihistamine use might increase the chances of brain tumor development by taking away the protection offered by allergies. They are not absolutely sure of this fact -- no one is certain of the reasons leading to brain cancer.

The researchers are now looking to discover a gene susceptibility to developing brain tumors, and if they can find one, people who have the gene that indicates a higher risk of developing a brain tumor could be warned about using antihistamines. I am guessing even if my aunt had the faulty gene, she would still use antihistamines for allergy relief. Unless you are an allergy sufferer, or watch someone who is suffering the misery of allergies, you might not fully understand why someone would throw caution to the wind and take a calculated risk, if there is one. In the case of asthma, not being able to breath seems riskier than the vague possibility of a brain tumor.

Based on a true story, The Blue Butterfly is about Pete Carlton, 10, who is terminally ill with brain cancer. Pete's last wish is to catch the mythic and elusive Blue Morpho, considered the most beautiful butterfly on earth. Knowing her son only has a few months left to live, Teresa is determined to make her son's last wish a reality. She convinces Alan Osborne, a renowned entomologist who prefers insects to people, to take the wheelchair bound boy to South America, into the Costa Rican rain forest, as this is the only place where the butterfly can be found. Osborne carries Pete on his back through the jungles in search of the Blue Morpho.

The plot synopsis goes on to describe The Blue Butterfly as a journey of courage, redemption and love. A magical film about a courageous young boy and a jaded man who chase a dream, and whose lives are forever changed. According to the producer of this film, Pete came back from the adventure walking, and is in his 20's now.

This is an independent film that has been shown in film festivals such as the Tribeca Film Festival and the Chicago Int’l Children’s Film Festival, and small theaters since 2004. Starring William Hurt, Pascale Bussieres, and Marc Donato, The Blue Butterfly will be released on DVD in May 2006. As the movie states, the only way to catch a miracle is to believe in it.

Today, researchers announce they have one more study favorably supporting the debate that cell phones are a brain cancer risk. According to Swedish National Institute for Working Life and the University of Oerebrshow researchers, extended intense cell phone use increases the risk for brain tumors, especially for those who began their cell phone use before the age of 20.

In the study, risks were greatest for those who used their cell phone more than 2,000 hours during the 10 year period. "One hour of calling a day during 200 working days over 10 years give 2,000 hours," stated Kjell Hansson Mild, a researcher at the National Institute for Working Life. Researchers do not want to raise unnecessary worry about using a cell phone, simply as a precautionary warning that it might be best to use a hands-free device whenever possible.  It has been said before, and it will be said again, that the hands-free device available for cell phones seems the most practical solution to the concern of cell phone use and the link to brain cancer.

Lisa Norris, the 15 year-old Scottish girl who received lethal overdoses of radiation is doing better, according to a recent news release. Norris received more than a 65 per cent overdose during her 17 radiotherapy sessions at the Beatson Oncology Centre in Glasgow. To counter the effects of the overdose she has been breathing high concentrations of oxygen at Ninewells Hospital in Dundee. Her caregiver, Professor Philip James, has used this technique to treat deep sea divers or people with wounds that will not heal. Thus far the young girl has experienced no pain during the breathing sessions, even reading or falling asleep during the therapy. Norris is looking forward to returning to the normal life she once lead before being diagnosed with a brain tumor just six months ago. 

Brain tumor leads woman to activism, a feature published by The Argus Leader, about Julia Khvasechko, a young woman brain cancer survivor who runs marathons for cancer charity, is a heartwarming story to begin the week.

Marathon runners suffer from dehydration and the physical weakness at about mile 20 of the 26 mile run, but Khvasechko says that is nothing compared to the experience of cancer diagnosis.

"When you hit a wall - for me that is around mile 19 - it's easy to give up, but one cannot give up, one has to keep going," she said. "That is what I learned from overcoming a chronic condition. The initial reaction to the diagnosis was that my life was over. I was so very young - I lost my innocence, my youth and my carefree lifestyle. And it was not an easy road after the diagnosis, either."

After an incorrect diagnosis of epilepsy in 1994, Khvasechko was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 1998, at the age of 24. After seven years, she is cancer-free. Khvasechko, and her running partner, Chris Pierson, just finished the Racing Ahead marathon to raise money for the National Brain Tumor Foundation. Both met online and plan to be married later this year. Some stories have a happy ending, and this is definitely one of them.

Gliadel Wafer, an implantable, biodegradable wafer that provides localized delivery of the chemotherapy drug carmustine, BCNU, directly to the brain tumor for newly diagnosed patients with high-grade malignant glioma as an adjunct to surgery and radiation, offers long term survival for brain cancer patients. Up to eight Gliadel wafers can be implanted in the brain after tumors are surgically removed. As a Gliadel wafer dissolves, BCNU is delivered directly to the site once occupied by the tumor, targeting any remaining tumor cells.

Research data about the wafer is published in the March issue of the European Journal of Neurosurgery. "We feel that the publication of this important data contributes significantly to the result of the randomized, placebo-controlled study, showing that patients with high-grade malignant gliomas have a better chance of long-term survival when treated with Gliadel Wafer," said University Hospital Eppendorf in Hamburg's  Dr. Manfred Westphal.

Looking for a mansion style home in the Louisville, Kentucky area? Hoping to donate money to brain cancer research? If those are both items on your To Do list, you are in luck. For the past two years contractors, builders and architects have been hard at work renovating two Arts and Crafts-style mansions near Louisville. The homes were built in 1915 by two Irish immigrant brothers but had fallen into severe disrepair. Dominion Homes bought the two properties hoping to demolish them and build newer projects. However, the company was convinced to refurbish them and donate the funds to a great cause, the Michael Quinlan Brain Cancer Foundation. The mansions are both between 5,000 and 6,000 square feet, both feature luxury accommodations. Much of the contracting work has been donated, making the sales contributions that much more for the foundation. Kathy Quinlan, Michael Quinlan's widow, said proceeds from the sale of the homes will put the foundation in a "new arena" in terms of resources for its work.

The BC Cancer Agency has published the first issue of Headlines, a free newsletter for people who have been diagnosed with a brain tumor. Published quarterly, the newsletter will include the latest in brain tumor research, resources available to brain tumor patients and their families, stories of other brain tumor patients and their families, tips for staying healthy, features on websites and books for information about brain tumors, updates on complementary therapies and natural products and commonly asked questions. Headlines invites you to submit an article or ask a question for future issues. Headlines is available online as a PDF document.

12 members of a girls swim team have gotten together and published a new cookbook as a cancer fundraiser for research into finding a cure for cancer. Dana Simms, a member of the swim team, recently lost her uncle Dan Stryer, 41, a doctor and researcher, to brain cancer. According to Simms, Cooking For The Cure cookbook editor, "When we announced the idea of a community cookbook to raise money for cancer, the recipes began coming in immediately. People would stop us in the street with tears in their eyes, thanking us for doing this project and telling us about a family member or friend with cancer." Others would send emails.

The girls received over 450 recipes from people wanting to help with the project. To date, sales from the cookbook has raised in excess of $20,000 dollars. The money will be donated to cancer a charity for cancer research. The Cooking For The Cure cookbooks are on sale for $15. If you would like to support a great cause, you can buy one here.

The cell phone and cancer debate continues to brew in a new Finnish study. In the pilot study researchers will expose a small area of volunteers' skin to cellphone radiation for the duration of a long phone call, or for approximately one hour. Previous tests have been performed on skin cells in the laboratory, however, according to research professor Dariusz Leszczynski of the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority, human cells react differently outside of the sterile lab setting. By testing on human subjects he hopes to get more accurate results from his research. Previous studies have not been able to make a clear connection between increased cases of brain cancer and cell phone use. But if the new study can shed more light on the subject, safety regulations could be implemented to prevent future cases.