Raising the Odds for Kids Who Survive Brain Tumors
Brain tumor treatment moves beyond the cure, thanks to new research.
July 17, 2007 — -- Growing up in Red Bank, N.J., Lucy Smith was an avid gymnast who excelled in school, going directly from first grade into third.
But she started having bad headaches, and after being referred to a neurologist, Lucy, then 12, was diagnosed with a brain tumor in February 1993.
During the next year, Lucy would travel with her family to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia for brain surgery, radiation treatments and chemotherapy.
She remembers having a mold made for her body for radiation therapy. She was placed in a dark room and left alone as the door closed with a loud "thunk" before a red light came on to indicate the start of the treatment.
She also remembers the soreness in her throat and a burning sensation in her chest when the procedures ended.
Lucy survived her tumor, attributing her successful recovery to a combination of good treatment and a sense of humor.
But survival didn't mean a return to the way things were.
"Before having the tumor and surgery and radiation I was really good in math, science and verbal," said Lucy. "Afterwards, it's like my thought processes changed."
In addition to going from "one of the students who never studied for tests" to "pretty average," Lucy said she had to relearn how to write -- even switching from lefty to righty -- and still has little short-term memory.
She's not alone in her struggles. A Finnish study released in this week's issue of the journal Neurology is the latest in a growing body of medical literature that sheds light on the problems that survivors of childhood tumors face.
Researchers used a national childhood cancer registry and a database of students' grades to learn how childhood brain tumor survivors fared academically compared to their peers.
They found that brain tumor survivors who had radiation treatments were likely, by the start of high school, to be behind their peers academically.
Findings like these are prompting researchers and treating physicians to consider not just whether a treatment will cure a patient, but how it will affect the patient's life down the line.
