Understanding Brain Tumors
- Lochlan Peckham was just 6 years old when his doctor thought he had a normal bug when he arrived for a checkup. A later MRI revealed that he had a brain tumor.
- Brain and spinal cord tumors are the second most common form of childhood cancer behind only leukemia. It's important that you make an appointment with your child's doctor if your child has any signs or symptoms that concern you.
- Grief is an unavoidable and essential part of the healing process following the loss of a loved one to cancer. Things like time and therapy can help you move forward.
Lochlan Peckham was just 6 years old when he went for a check up in 2019. There, his doctor assumed his symptoms were caused by “a typical bug.”
Read More“Lochlan managed to handle this treatment, so his medical team decided to extend his treatment to 12 cycles over 12 months,” his father said. “Unfortunately, when he reached the end of cycle 12 there were no other treatment options available, and we went into a period of ‘watch and wait’ for six months.”
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Sadly, Lochlan’s health deteriorated after three months and an MRI revealed the heartbreaking news that his cancer had spread to new areas of his brain.
“Throughout each step of his journey we were always told to expect the worst, but at each point Lochlan showed his true colours, bravery and courage to overcome every hurdle that was in front of him, consistently exceeding all medical expectations,” his father said.
Devastatingly, Lochlan passed away in May 2021. But his parents are trying to share his story to raise funds for brain tumor research and educate others about brain tumors.
“There is such a lack of awareness of brain tumors and that is just wrong,” Lochlan’s father said. “More funding needs to be assigned to researching this at a national level, in particular, pediatric brain tumor research, if our children are to survive this horrific disease in the future.
The heartbroken father has since run 55 miles in memory of his son and Lochlan’s family has raised more than $5,500 for Brain Tumor Research.
“If Lochlan's death can help in any way, that is great and if me running makes a fraction of a difference, then I'd do it ten times over,” the father said. “I hope Lochlan would be proud of me.”Symptoms of Childhood Brain Tumors
Brain and spinal cord tumors are the second most common form of childhood cancer, accounting for more than 4,000 diagnoses per year about a quarter of all childhood cases. Only leukemia is more common.
According to the Mayo Clinic, treatment depends greatly on the type, size and location of the pediatric brain tumor but may include surgery, traditional radiation therapy, proton beam therapy, radiosurgery, chemotherapy and targeted drug therapy.
Some of the more common symptoms of a brain tumor in children include:
- Headaches, which may become more frequent and more severe
- Feeling of increased pressure in the head
- Unexplained nausea or vomiting
- Abrupt onset of vision problems, such double vision
Other possible signs and symptoms, depending on the tumor location, include:
- A fuller soft spot (fontanel) on the skull in babies
- Seizures, especially when there's no history of seizures
- Abormal eye movement
- Slurred speech
- Trouble swallowing
- Loss of appetite; or in babies, difficulty feeding
- Difficulty with balance
- Trouble walking
- Weakness or loss of sensation in an arm or a leg
- Weakness or drooping on one side on the face
- Confusion, irritability
- Memory problems
- Personality or behavior changes
- Hearing problems
It’s important to remember that having one or many of these symptoms does not necessarily mean your child has a brain tumor. Even still, it’s always important to advocate for your child and bring up any changes to their health to a doctor promptly.
Losing a Loved One to Cancer
Grief is an inevitable and essential part of the healing process after losing a loved one to cancer. And there's definitely no one way to cope, but Doug Wendt shared his thoughts on grief in a previous interview with SurvivorNet after losing his wife Alice to ovarian cancer.
"We're never gonna move on, I don't even think I want to move on, but I do want to move forward," Wendt said. "That's an important distinction, and I encourage anybody who goes through this journey as a caregiver and then has to face loss, to think very carefully about how to move forward."
Everyone's journey of grief looks different, but therapy and support groups can also be wonderful options to explore. It's also important to keep in mind that time does not heal everything, but it certainly helps.
In an earlier interview with SurvivorNet, Camila Legaspi shared her own advice on grief after her mother died of breast cancer. For her, therapy made all the difference.
"Therapy Saved My Life": After Losing A Loved One, Don't Be Afraid To Ask For Help
"Therapy saved my life," Legaspi said. "I was dealing with some really intense anxiety and depression at that point. It just changed my life, because I was so drained by all the negativity that was going on. Going to a therapist helped me realize that there was still so much out there for me, that I still had my family, that I still had my siblings."
Legaspi also wanted to remind people that even though it can be an incredibly difficult experience to process, things will get better.
"When you lose someone, it's really, really, really hard," Legaspi said. "I'm so happy that I talked to my therapist. Keep your chin up, and it's going to be OK. No matter what happens, it's going to be OK."
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