In 2024, about 9,620 children in the U.S. under the age of 15 were estimated to be diagnosed with cancer. Each year, about 400,000 children are diagnosed with cancer around the world, and in the U.S., now about 15,780 children between the ages of birth and 19 are diagnosed with cancer. Childhood cancer is a worldwide problem; about 44% of cases are not diagnosed. The overall 5-year survival rate for childhood cancer, however, is close to 80%.

When a child has cancer, their family has to pay a significant amount of money for diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up care. One study found that four main things contribute to these costs: having to travel for treatment; losing money because a parent loses their job or is laid off; having to pay for treatment out of pocket; and not being able to use assistance programs to help or replace lost income. For these families, their child, who needs treatment, results in an inordinate upset in every aspect of their lives.

If cancer is affecting so many children, what might be the cause? Now we have new information on how cancer utilizes a child’s body’s development in the nervous system to bend it to the purpose of disease, disability, or death. It all comes down to the way our nervous system develops, and therein lies the backdoor to diseases, like cancer.

As I’ve indicated previously, our nervous system is like a series of highways that push out in interconnecting networks to control everything we do, think, feel, or don’t feel, such as those automatic actions of breathing, the heart beating, blood pressure, etc. The most vital structure, which is the highway, runs like a cable (the axon). What cable could do any work if its electrical transmission wasn’t protected? Herein lies the culprit or victim of cancer: the Schwann cells.

Axons are covered by individual Schwann cells that wrap around them like the layers we see on onions. Made of fatty material, they protect the axon and facilitate its work, moving electrical charges even faster via tiny spaces between each of these cells (the node of Ranvier).

The Schwann cell plasma membrane is very high in lipids, and cholesterol is especially important for putting together the myelin sheath. Working together, the Schwann cells, the myelin sheath they create, and the nodes of Ranvier protect and help with transmission. Think of it like microscopic links of sausage, if you wish.

But cancer doesn’t limit itself to just the axon because it is found in the areas where axons connect with others (synapses), and cancer is forming its connections to integrate into the nervous system, especially the brain. These tumor cells in the brains of children, especially gliomas, have an inordinate ability to tap into normal nerve developmental connections in a manner that permits them to thrive and grow within the system. A child’s growth, therefore, is an opportunity for cancer, and it seizes it.

The most dangerous thing about high-grade gliomas is that the cancer cells spread into healthy brain tissue, joining the tumor to the healthy brain tissue. This helps explain why gliomas are so hard to treat. They are so sneaky—they become part of the brain. But there are even more discoveries being made about these cancers that have shocked researchers.

Gliomas change brain circuitry to suit their own needs by taking over the brain’s neuroplasticity through synaptic remodeling and changing the brain’s architecture. Thought and the mind’s activity through speech mechanisms also seem to help the tumor grow, showing an unexpected link between the mind and the brain.

It had not occurred to scientists that cancer cells, even those in the brain, could talk to each other in this way. The tumor’s constant electrical contact may have been helping it to live or even grow. It is changing the way cancer research is proceeding, and the discoveries present new evidence for hope that medications may, in some way, disrupt these cells’ ability to communicate and grow.

Today, cancer neuroscience is a new area of medicine that grew out of the findings. Now the search begins to beat cancer at its own game and save lives through our new understanding and the development of treatments for it.

The post The Nervous System and Its Relationship to Cancer’s Hacks appeared first on Medika Life.

The answer is… it really depends.

Pain is a danger signal that your nervous system sends when it feels unsafe. So should you obey the danger signal and stop what you’re doing? Or should you ignore it and keep going on with your life?

Or… could there be a different path altogether?

Consider this metaphor…

Imagine that your nervous system is a child and your mind is the parent. While playing, the child falls, scrapes their knee and starts crying in pain and fear.

What parenting style will help the child to reestablish a sense of safety?

👉 Would it be a pushy, tough-love parenting style — telling the child to “just get over it” and push through the pain? Probably not.

👉 Would it be a coddling, over-protective parenting style — telling the child to lie down in bed and sleep for the rest of the day every time they feel fear and pain? Probably not that either.

➡️ How about a style of loving acknowledgment and gentle encouragement?

If pain is mild…

That means the child is only a little unsettled. Offer them warmth and kindness — and then encourage them to shake it off. Reassure them that they’re okay and remind them that they’re strong and capable.

If pain is high…

That means the child is quite shaken up and may need time to reestablish equilibrium. Offer them warmth and kindness while they feel their feelings. Give them the time they need to settle. Sit with them and sooth them. And then…

Once they’ve settled enough that their distress and pain levels have decreased to mild — encourage them to get back in the game!

If the child resists, do NOT push them.

The goal is to help the child regain a feeling of safety. Pushing them and overriding their feelings will not accomplish that — it will only increase distress. Instead, honor their feelings and alternate soothing with gentle encouragement.

Translating the metaphor…

When you feel pain, what would feel kind and loving to your nervous system? Because kind and loving is what helps the nervous system feel safe. Safe enough to turn down the danger signal (i.e. pain.)

Treat your nervous system the way you would treat a beloved child — honoring the child’s vulnerable feelings with empathy, expressing confidence in their strength and capability, and encouraging them to re-engage in activities that bring them joy — and little by little, feelings of safety will return.

It may take time and patience. But your nervous system is worth it! 💖

With loads of warmth, empathy and confidence in you,

Anna

➡️ If you need support with chronic pain and anxiety, take my FREE QUIZ called “Why the *bleep* am I still in pain?!” so I can help you get some clarity.

And follow me on instagram for healing tips, inspiration and encouragement.

The post Should You Rest or Keep Going When You Have Chronic Pain? appeared first on Medika Life.