People like me count on facts every day to get through life. For me, it is mostly scientific facts. The definition of fact is as follows: something that is indisputably the case. Can we dispute facts? This is my question. Mathematics, Science, time and events are regarded as fact. Fact is the reason of question-so can we question facts? Maths, for example. Somewhere and at some time, a human being invented the study of mathematics. Albert Einstein, and Richard Feynman are the pioneers of the subject.
It was created, because everything is created at some point in time. Math is not fact. Facts themselves are not facts, they are simply our creations in which we have bestowed upon the Earth. Math and Science are my favorite topics. I am on a quest to discover where they originated. The only species to use mathematics are humans. Are other species in a state of trance? One where there is no logic, only instinct?
We use time on a daily basis. It is everywhere- from clocks to a person's number of years he or she has been alive. In the beginning, there was no time. Life simply happened and existed, without a means of telling when. If time was to change, say 10:00pm became 6:00am, I would be highly confused as would all humans as we have adapted to the nature of time mechanics. I am 20-years-old, but what is the deeper meaning of this? Statistics show that I have at least 60 years left to live, and that is very easy for me to measure. Was I not familiar with the concept, I may have no idea.
Religion is very debatable, yet facts are not. When a person opposes a religion, his argument is often that it cannot be proven, and that the religion was possibly invented by another human being. The point I am trying to make is, everything we regard as fact WAS invented by someone. That in itself is the only true "fact". We know that there were no clocks of mathematics books when the world began.
Another question is our being. We may say we know that we are alive, but how do we know this is not one big dream, that we are not living in the matrix? We would not know, as this life is the only thing that we can remember. Anyone who reads this, he or she may simply be a figament of my imagination. Many people are regarded as crazy for seeing others that do not appear visible to most. How do we know that those "hallucinations" are not actual people, and those that we claim to be a part in reality are not hallucinations?
In closing, I will continue to live my life by facts, as they are most easily understood by me. However, I will always question the nature of the world and the mystery of homosapiens as I live my "life" (or is it my dream?).
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
Sunday, November 3, 2013
DIPG
The first symptoms of DIPG include neuromotor issues. These include but are not limited to : loss of balance, dizziness,, lack of hand-eye coordination, speech impediments, and drooling. DIPG is is more often found in juveniles. The mean age of diagnosis is age six, although in rare cases individuals over eighteen have developed this form of cancer.
These symptoms usually go ignored, as they are not concerning enough for the patient to see a physician. They occur because the brain stem controls these involuntary functions, and when a tumor develops, it causes the pons to malfunction. The symptoms that usually bring a patient to their care provider are a persistent headache, vomiting, paralysis of one or more body parts, and facial numbness. The headache generally subsides after the patient vomits.
This usually warrants a referral to a neurologist, then a CT scan or an MRI. The benefits of a CT scan would be that it is less expensive, takes less time to perform, and is less sensitive to motion. However, it is not as detailed as an MRI scan. MRI scans detect tumors as small as 2 mm. If Gadolinium Contrast Medium is given to the patient intravenously during the test, any tumor on the scan will appear enhanced and easier to spot.
Treatment depends on the size and progression of the Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma. Surgery is never an option. The pons is extremely vital to respiratory function, digestion, and circulation. Any type of operation on this part of the brain would most likely result in death. Chemotherapy is usually not effective in DIPG. The tumor is too difficult for it to "reach" so to speak. However, it will sometimes prolong the life of the patient, so is often given toward the end stages. Radiation, steroids, and other drugs to slow the progression down are the most commonly used treatments. Active Clinical Drug Trials for DIPG include but are not limited to Vandetanib, Dasatinib, Gemzar, and Toposin. These drugs help shrink the tumor.
However, these treatments can only prolong the patient's life, not allow them to go into remission. Over 97% of patients die within three years of diagnosis. 37% survival rate at 1 year, 20% at 2 years, and 13% of patients survive with DIPG over 3 years. Over 90% die within 18 months of diagnosis. The tumor grows at an extraordinary rate, soon causing other problematic symptoms. The patient should have an MRI scan at least twice a month to determine the current size of the tumor.
You may wonder why radiation can treat cancer but also cause it. My theory is that it is somewhat similar to a vaccine: a small amount of a deactivated form is given, which causes the body to fight off the ailment. Also, gamma rays are used in cancer therapy, and these have smaller wavelengths than other cancer-causing forms of radiation.
Steroids cause a host of issues. The patient begins to gain a remarkable amount of weight, particularly in the facial area and the stomach. Psychological consequences can occur, such as hostility and anxiety.Abnormal amounts of unwanted hair can grow. As the tumor progresses, the patient gets weaker. Mental capacity often remains the same, but the Wernicke's area of the brain becomes damaged, thus causing the patient to eventually be unable to speak.
Muscle control weakens. If one arm or leg is not already paralyzed, the patient often loses the sense of feeling in a body part. Walking becomes difficult as the tumor takes over that function. The patient begins to need a wheelchair more often, until he or she becomes wheelchair-bound. As the Cerebral Cortex is soon affected, swallowing is no longer able to occur. At this point a thin feeding tube is inserted through the patient's nose leading to the stomach.
Two complications of DIPG are a tumor bleed and seizures. Seizures occur when the tumor overstimulates the brain. The patient is prescribed anticonvulsants to reduce the amount of seizures. A tumor bleed may signify the end. In other tumors, surgery can be performed to stop the bleed, but as I mentioned before, there are no surgical options with this form. At this point, the patient is made as comfortable as possible.
The patient should be prescribed medication for pain. When he or she passes away, they should be in as least pain as possible.
I do believe we have a cure in our midst, although it has not been discovered quite yet. This is my explanation of Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma. It may sound blunt, but it consists of facts and the most likely events to occur when a person is diagnosed.
Introduction to Science and Study USA
Welcome to Science and Study USA. My name is Arianne G. Rothrock.
I prefer to be known as Anna. I am 20 years of age. This blog mainly
focuses on my interest in Academics such as Biology, Microbiology, Medical
Sciences, Mathematics, Philosophy, Theory, current events, and topic debate.
However, I feel it is necessary for you to understand the nature of my ideas
that I explain the way my brain and psyche work.
For most human minds, a message is sent to the brain, and it serves its
purpose, thus causing the person to react in some way. When I hear or read
something of interest, I continue to hear it repetitively in my mind for some
time, even after it is no longer being read or spoken. It does depend on the
item in question. If it is something potent to me and my knowledge, it tends to
stay in my brain, as if the sentence or image is being flashed on a screen
numerous times in a row 5x faster than the average brain can read or
comprehend. Sometimes the thought will disappear within a matter of five
minutes, other times it may take days or even weeks for it to stop flashing on
the screen and sounding on the loudspeaker.
This may seem like a positive
function, however, it is extremely problematic. If anything appears distasteful
to me in any way, I find it very difficult to enjoy a meal as the image is flashing
so rapidly that I am unable to focus on the food in front of me, and every bite
enhances the dreadful thought raging in my brain. It is not only tastes that are
the problem. If two or more noises are occurring in a room, to me, the one with
the lowest altitude overrides the sound with the highest altitude, and I find it
very difficult to engage in the sound with the higher altitude. On occasion,
the troublesome sound will replay itself long after they have all dispersed.
When I look at a person's facial expression, initially I almost always see anger,
no matter what the true emotion may be. This is when I must reason with my
self and consider the circumstances.
If there seems to be nothing that would
cause him or her distress or irritation, I begin to solve a puzzle based on
clues in the atmosphere to determine the person's body language.
If there seems to be something that could be bothering the subject, I tend need
verification from him or her so that I can understand the determining factor
for this emotion. I find it difficult to identify these factors visually, I must
hear words in order for it to form an imprint and realization in my mind.
Certain visual stimuli is calming for me, such as objects that light up,
are filled with air, and/or are made of latex.
At times, I find it easier to understand certain inanimate objects rather than
people- A tennis ball does not do anything unpredictable. It is round, and will
always be round. It rolls on the ground because of its shape. Humans will do
things that have no explanation, and have unwritten rules that they follow
religiously. I am expected to follow these rules, that have no explanation as to
when and why they were created
For example, I walk on tiptoe. I do this because my Achilles tendon is
shorter than most, and I find it very difficult to balance on my heels.
Yet this is seen as wrong, because someone wrote a rule stating that it is
inappropriate to walk on tiptoe in public. I have gathered that in society,
anything that is not done by the mean of population is not acceptable.
Are we all destined to behave as one? We do what we are taught rather
than what our mind would like to do. Should our world be similar to that of
a pack of wolves, where everyone is a unit and not a singleton?
My mind is programmed to question everything. It works as a constant
puzzle, when a problem arises, the explanations are many plugs
attached to the screen on which the item is flashing. I try various plugs
until one fits in the socket. At times, the answer is the question itself, and that
plug is behind the screen.
While my brain allows certain topics to become relevant and "stick", others
do not, and I find it impossible to solve them. Such as sweeping. I very well
understand why we must sweep, and I want to sweep. I want a clean home.
However, the motion of sweeping does not come naturally to me.
It is difficult to dance well, as I dance the way my body wants to, but I cannot copy another person's motions physically.
Directions, as in getting to and from a location, are a very major problem for me. I cannot remember which path I took at the park or where the noodle aisle at the grocery store is. Mainly because finding my way around a place is an action and not a comprehensive topic. I am very used to getting lost, but I usually continue walking until I finally reach my destination. This is the reason I make effort to arrive to appointments and my job early.
So, I channel my abilities into researching topics of interest. Sometimes people ask me, "what made you want to research cancer specifically?" I like to respond that I did not voluntarily choose to research it. I have lost people to cancer, but I honestly cannot say that it sparked an interest. Studying cancer will not bring them back, and I will not be able to help cure it right now as I am only starting college as a freshman in January. (My goal, however, is to eventually get my doctorate in Microbiology)Simply put, I often find myself searching for information on the subject.
The main goal of this blog is to find more questions which flash on the screen, because my inner logic devours on them. Once I am able to find these, I will use trial and error to plug in the answer. I have my doubts as to if anyone will read this blog. As I said, it seems that the eccentric are the least understood. Humans would probably rather read a blog about celebrity gossip or sports. While misunderstanding is the basis of disappointment, it is also the basis of discovery. Once an individual is rejected, he or she becomes aware of the person they are, and they must learn to love themselves as they feel that they need acceptance.
I prefer to be known as Anna. I am 20 years of age. This blog mainly
focuses on my interest in Academics such as Biology, Microbiology, Medical
Sciences, Mathematics, Philosophy, Theory, current events, and topic debate.
However, I feel it is necessary for you to understand the nature of my ideas
that I explain the way my brain and psyche work.
For most human minds, a message is sent to the brain, and it serves its
purpose, thus causing the person to react in some way. When I hear or read
something of interest, I continue to hear it repetitively in my mind for some
time, even after it is no longer being read or spoken. It does depend on the
item in question. If it is something potent to me and my knowledge, it tends to
stay in my brain, as if the sentence or image is being flashed on a screen
numerous times in a row 5x faster than the average brain can read or
comprehend. Sometimes the thought will disappear within a matter of five
minutes, other times it may take days or even weeks for it to stop flashing on
the screen and sounding on the loudspeaker.
This may seem like a positive
function, however, it is extremely problematic. If anything appears distasteful
to me in any way, I find it very difficult to enjoy a meal as the image is flashing
so rapidly that I am unable to focus on the food in front of me, and every bite
enhances the dreadful thought raging in my brain. It is not only tastes that are
the problem. If two or more noises are occurring in a room, to me, the one with
the lowest altitude overrides the sound with the highest altitude, and I find it
very difficult to engage in the sound with the higher altitude. On occasion,
the troublesome sound will replay itself long after they have all dispersed.
When I look at a person's facial expression, initially I almost always see anger,
no matter what the true emotion may be. This is when I must reason with my
self and consider the circumstances.
If there seems to be nothing that would
cause him or her distress or irritation, I begin to solve a puzzle based on
clues in the atmosphere to determine the person's body language.
If there seems to be something that could be bothering the subject, I tend need
verification from him or her so that I can understand the determining factor
for this emotion. I find it difficult to identify these factors visually, I must
hear words in order for it to form an imprint and realization in my mind.
Certain visual stimuli is calming for me, such as objects that light up,
are filled with air, and/or are made of latex.
At times, I find it easier to understand certain inanimate objects rather than
people- A tennis ball does not do anything unpredictable. It is round, and will
always be round. It rolls on the ground because of its shape. Humans will do
things that have no explanation, and have unwritten rules that they follow
religiously. I am expected to follow these rules, that have no explanation as to
when and why they were created
For example, I walk on tiptoe. I do this because my Achilles tendon is
shorter than most, and I find it very difficult to balance on my heels.
Yet this is seen as wrong, because someone wrote a rule stating that it is
inappropriate to walk on tiptoe in public. I have gathered that in society,
anything that is not done by the mean of population is not acceptable.
Are we all destined to behave as one? We do what we are taught rather
than what our mind would like to do. Should our world be similar to that of
a pack of wolves, where everyone is a unit and not a singleton?
My mind is programmed to question everything. It works as a constant
puzzle, when a problem arises, the explanations are many plugs
attached to the screen on which the item is flashing. I try various plugs
until one fits in the socket. At times, the answer is the question itself, and that
plug is behind the screen.
While my brain allows certain topics to become relevant and "stick", others
do not, and I find it impossible to solve them. Such as sweeping. I very well
understand why we must sweep, and I want to sweep. I want a clean home.
However, the motion of sweeping does not come naturally to me.
It is difficult to dance well, as I dance the way my body wants to, but I cannot copy another person's motions physically.
Directions, as in getting to and from a location, are a very major problem for me. I cannot remember which path I took at the park or where the noodle aisle at the grocery store is. Mainly because finding my way around a place is an action and not a comprehensive topic. I am very used to getting lost, but I usually continue walking until I finally reach my destination. This is the reason I make effort to arrive to appointments and my job early.
So, I channel my abilities into researching topics of interest. Sometimes people ask me, "what made you want to research cancer specifically?" I like to respond that I did not voluntarily choose to research it. I have lost people to cancer, but I honestly cannot say that it sparked an interest. Studying cancer will not bring them back, and I will not be able to help cure it right now as I am only starting college as a freshman in January. (My goal, however, is to eventually get my doctorate in Microbiology)Simply put, I often find myself searching for information on the subject.
The main goal of this blog is to find more questions which flash on the screen, because my inner logic devours on them. Once I am able to find these, I will use trial and error to plug in the answer. I have my doubts as to if anyone will read this blog. As I said, it seems that the eccentric are the least understood. Humans would probably rather read a blog about celebrity gossip or sports. While misunderstanding is the basis of disappointment, it is also the basis of discovery. Once an individual is rejected, he or she becomes aware of the person they are, and they must learn to love themselves as they feel that they need acceptance.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)