Tag Archives: Awareness Month

Brain Tumor Awareness Month

Today nearly 700,000 people in the United States are living with a primary brain tumor, and more than 69,000 others will be diagnosed this year. Brain tumors are often deadly, impact quality of life, and change everything for patients and their loved ones.

88,096 Americans are living with a brain tumor.
- 550,042 tumors are benign
- 138,054 tumors are malignant
An estimated 68,470 people will receive primary brain tumor diagnoses this year.
- 45,300 will be benign
- 23,180 will be malignant
  - Male: 55.2%
  - Female: 44.8%
The average survival rate for all malignant brain tumor patients is 34.2%.
- Male: 32.6%
- Female: 44.8%
An estimated 13,770 people will die from brain cancer this year

Brain Tumors in Adults

The most prevalent brain tumor types in adults:
- Gliomas, such as glioblastoma multiforme, ependymomas, astrocytomas, and oligodendrogliomas
- Meningiomas

Brain Tumors in Children

An estimated 4,620 children will receive brain tumor diagnoses this year
The average survival rate for all children with malignant brain tumors is 66%
Brain tumors are the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in children under 14, and the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in children under 20
The most prevalent brain tumor types in children:
- Astrocytoma
- Medulloblastoma
- Ependymoma

National Stroke Awareness Month

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What Is A Stroke?
A stroke is a “brain attack”. It can happen to anyone at any time. It occurs when blood flow to an area of brain is cut off. When this happens, brain cells are deprived of oxygen and begin to die. When brain cells die during a stroke, abilities controlled by that area of the brain such as memory and muscle control are lost.

How a person is affected by their stroke depends on where the stroke occurs in the brain and how much the brain is damaged. For example, someone who had a small stroke may only have minor problems such as temporary weakness of an arm or leg. People who have larger strokes may be permanently paralyzed on one side of their body or lose their ability to speak. Some people recover completely from strokes, but more than 2/3 of survivors will have some type of disability.

Stroke by the Numbers

Each year nearly 800,000 people experience a new or recurrent stroke.
A stroke happens every 40 seconds.
Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the U.S.
Every 4 minutes someone dies from stroke.
Up to 80 percent of strokes can be prevented.
Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability in the U.S.

Mental Health Awareness Month: Know the Warning Signs

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Trying to tell the difference between what expected behaviors are and what might be the signs of a mental illness isn’t always easy. There’s no easy test that can let someone know if there is mental illness or if actions and thoughts might be typical behaviors of a person or the result of a physical illness.

Each illness has its own set of symptoms but some common signs of mental illness in adults and adolescents can include the following.

Excessive worrying or fear
Feeling excessively sad or low
Confused thinking or problems concentrating and learning
Extreme mood changes, including uncontrollable “highs” or feelings of euphoria
Prolonged or strong feelings of irritability or anger
Avoiding friends and social activities
Difficulties understanding or relating to other people
Changes in sleeping habits or feeling tired and low energy
Changes in eating habits such as increased hunger or lack of appetite
Changes in sex drive
Difficulty perceiving reality (delusions or hallucinations, in which a person experiences and senses things that don’t exist in objective reality)
Inability to perceive changes in one’s own feelings, behavior or personality (”lack of insight” or anosognosia)
Abuse of substances like alcohol or drugs
Multiple physical ailments without obvious causes (such as headaches, stomach aches, vague and ongoing “aches and pains”)
Thinking about suicide
Inability to carry out daily activities or handle daily problems and stress
An intense fear of weight gain or concern with appearance (mostly in adolescents)

Mental health conditions can also begin to develop in young children. Because they’re still learning how to identify and talk about thoughts and emotions, their most obvious symptoms are behavioral. Symptoms in children may include:

Changes in school performance
Excessive worry or anxiety, for instance fighting to avoid bed or school
Hyperactive behavior
Frequent nightmares
Frequent disobedience or aggression
Frequent temper tantrums

March Is Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

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President Ronald Reagan declared March to be Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month in 1987, urging “all Americans to join me in according to our fellow citizens with such disabilities both encouragement and the opportunities they need to lead productive lives and to achieve their full potential.”

What is a Developmental Disability?

Definition of Developmental Disability
Developmental Disability means a disability that is manifested before the person reaches twenty-two (22) years of age, which constitutes a substantial disability to the affected individual, and is attributable to mental retardation or related conditions which include cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism or other neurological conditions when such conditions result in impairment of general intellectual functioning or adaptive behavior similar to that of a person with mental retardation. Unless otherwise specifically stated, the federal definition of “Developmental Disability” found in 42 U.S.C. 6000, et seq., shall not apply.

A. Impairment of general intellectual functioning means that the person has been determined to have an intellectual quotient equivalent which is two or more standard deviations below the mean (70 or less assuming a scale with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15), as measured by an instrument which is standardized, appropriate to the nature of the person’s disability, and administered by a qualified professional. The standard error of measurement of the instrument should be considered when determining the intellectual quotient equivalent. When an individual’s general intellectual functioning cannot be measured by a standardized instrument, then the assessment of a qualified professional shall be used.
B. “Adaptive behavior similar to that of a person with mental retardation” means that the person has overall adaptive behavior which is two or more standard deviations below the mean in two or more skill areas (communication, self-care, home living, social skills, community use, self-direction, health and safety, functional academics, leisure, and work), as measured by an instrument which is standardized, appropriate to the person’s living environment, and administered and clinically determined by a qualified professional. These adaptive behavior limitations are a direct result of, or are significantly influenced by, the person’s substantial intellectual deficits and may not be attributable to only a physical or sensory impairment or mental illness.

“Substantial intellectual deficits” means an intellectual quotient that is between 71 and 75 assuming a scale with a mean of 100 and a standard deviation of 15, as measured by an instrument which is standardized, appropriate to the nature of the person’s disability, and administered by a qualified professional. The standard error of measurement of the instrument should be considered when determining the intellectual quotient equivalent.

Definition of Developmental Delay
A developmental delay is the slowed or impaired development of a child who is under 5 years old and who is at risk of having a developmental disability because of the presence of one or more of the following:

Congenital syndromes and conditions associated with delay in development,
Metabolic disorders,
Prenatal and perinatal infections and significant medical problems,
Low birth weight infants weighing less than 1200 grams,
Postnatal acquired problems known to result in significant developmental delays, OR:
A child less than 5 years old who is delayed in development by 1.5 standard deviations or more in one or more of the following areas; communication, self-help, social-emotional, motor skills, sensory development or cognition, OR
A child less than 3 years of age who lives with one or both parents who have a developmental disability.

February is National AMD/Low Vision Awareness Month

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AMD or Age-Related Macular degeneration is the leading cause of vision loss affecting over 15 million adults over the age of 50.To understand how AMD affects your vision. Take your left hand and cover your left eye, now make a fist with your right hand. Take your right fist and place it directly in front of your right eye. The only thing you should see is images in your periphery or side vision. Now imagine that this is how you are to function within the world.

AMD
Age-Related Macular degeneration can develop so slowly that it’s not until the vision is getting severely bad that the patient will notice. Age-Related Macular Degeneration primarily destroys the sharp central vision controlled by a spot at the back of the retina called the macula. Sharp central vision is needed to read, drive, identify faces, watch television and perform daily tasks that require straight ahead vision.

Risk Factors
The exact cause of AMD is not known. But there are a number of risk factors that may play a role. Some you can help control, some you can’t.The same things that put you at risk for heart disease and stroke also put you at risk for AMD. These include:
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Obesity
• Smoking
Risks you cannot control include age, family history, gender and race.
Symptoms
AMD symptoms include blurriness, wavy lines, or a blind spot. You may also notice visual distortions such as:
• Straight lines or faces appearing wavy
• Doorways seeming crooked
• Objects appearing smaller or farther away
If you notice any of these symptoms, you should see an ophthalmologist as soon as possible. If you are diagnosed with wet AMD, it is important to see a Retina Specialist for the most appropriate care

Living with AMD
Make the Most of your Vision. Millions of people have macular degeneration and millions of them continue to do everything they always did. Because you never become blind with AMD, there is always sight available if you know how to use it.
The peripheral vision you have helps you to get around the house and outside. There are devices and techniques for everything from reading to cooking to watching sports on TV. You may have to stop driving at some point, but for everything else, there is a solution.
If you are losing sight, there are some simple things you can do on your own to improve your ability to see. Don’t become discouraged! You will probably need to try out multiple devices before you find one that works for you. These range from magnifiers that are held in the hand or suspended on a stand to devices that attach to your glasses or computers that help you to read.

Things you can do on your own:
• Improve the lighting in your home and office. This may not necessarily mean that you should increase the lighting or the brightness. Glare is often a problem for people with low vision. You’ll need to experiment to see what works best for you. Special lights are available through many catalogs.
• Use high contrast for reading and writing. Write in large letters with a broad felt tip pen on white or light paper.
• Use large print books or try other media, like books on tape, disk or mp3. Most libraries have a section of these or you can find them online. There are also special libraries for visually impaired.
• Use a hand held magnifier. In the beginning, you may find some help at your local drug store by trying out the various small hand-held magnifiers available. If one of them helps your vision, you should certainly use it. Other magnifying devices may be more useful if your vision is very bad.