Brain Cancer: Caring for the Latino Patient at Home

Adult Brain Tumor
Latino Health
Caring for a Latino Patient at Home
Case Study: The Morales Family
Referrals
 

Purpose

    The purpose of this web page is to create a resource of information on adult brain cancer as well as present a biographical sketch of a Latino family's experience with the disease. The variation on patients’ experiences are vast and depend strongly on personal cultures, beliefs, environmental conditions, social conditions, and the different types and stages of cancer. The Morales* family is only one example of how the disease can impact daily living and survival for a family.

*Name is used as an example presentation, not an actual case.

What is cancer?

    Sometimes normal, healthy cells lose the ability to control their growth. Although they do not develop normally and cannot do the job they are suppose to do, they keep multiplying. These cells form a mass of extra tissue, called a growth or tumor. When the abnormal cells join together to form a tumor that invades and eventually destroys surrounding healthy tissue, the disease is called cancer.

    Cancer can begin in any organ or tissue of the body. The original tumor is called the primary cancer or primary tumor and is usually named for the part of the body in which it begins. Tumors can be benign or malignant:

  • Benign tumors are not cancer. They often can be removed and, in most cases, they do not come back. Cells in benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body. Most important, benign tumors are rarely a threat to life.
  • Malignant tumors are cancer. Cells in malignant tumors are abnormal and divide without control or order. These cancer cells can invade and destroy the tissues around them. Also, cancer cells can break away from a malignant tumor and enter the bloodstream or the lymphatic system. This process is the way cancer spreads from the original (primary) tumor to form new tumors in other parts of the body. The spread of cancer is called metastasis.

    •  

    Adult Brain Tumor

    In 1998 it is estimated that 17,400 people will be diagnosed with brain tumors or other nervous system cancer in the United States, with approximately 9,800 new cases for men, and 7,600 new cases for women. (CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians, Vol. 48, No. 1, Jan/Feb 1998)

    The American Cancer Society estimates approximately 13,300 people will die from brain cancers.

    Brain cancer accounts for approximately 1.4% of all cancers and 2.4% of all cancer-related deaths.

    Average survival time for patients with low-grade astrocytomas or oligodendrogliomas is approximately 6 to 8 years. Average survival for patients with anaplastic astrocytomas is approximately 1 to 1.5 years.
     
    Additional information about current statistics and types of adult brain tumors can be found on the Cancer Care page.

    What is an adult brain tumor?

    Adult brain tumor is a disease in which cancer (malignant) cells begin to grow in the tissue of the brain. The brain controls memory and learning, senses (hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch), and emotion. It also controls other parts of the body, including muscles, organs, and blood vessels.
        Signs and symptoms: frequent headaches, vomiting, or difficulty walking or speaking. If there are symptoms, a doctor may order a compound tomographic scan (CT), a special x-ray that uses a computer to make a picture of the brain. A magnetic resonance imaging scan (MRI), which uses magnetic waves to make a picture of the brain, may also be done. Often surgery is required to determine if there is a brain tumor and to see what type of tumor it is. The chance of recovery and choice of treatment depend on the type of brain tumor and the patient’s general state of health.

       Risk factors: A risk factor is anything that increases a person’s chance of getting a disease such as cancer. Different cancers have different risk factors. For an example, unprotected exposure to strong sunlight is a risk factor for skin cancer.

        The large majority of brain cancers are not associated with any risk factors. Most brain cancers simply happen for no apparent reason. A few risk factors associated with brain cancer which are known:

     
    Additional information on the risk factors and causes of brain tumors can be found on the American Cancer Society page.
     

    Latino Health

       As the fastest growing population group in the United States, Latinos, amazingly, have a lower occurrence of many kinds of cancer. They also have a lower mortality rate by those who do develop the disease. Genetic factors and age can affect the risks of developing a cancer, but it is avoidable and preventable through a healthier lifestyle; an understanding that the general Latino population is beginning to understand.

        Factors that contribute to the actual incidence of cancer among Latinos include: lack of access to health care, lack of education and knowledge about regular screenings, language barriers, and a tendency to culturally somatize physical symptoms which U.S. health professionals often interpret incorrectly.

       The data on Latinos and cancer is just beginning to develop. The alarming socioeconomic and cultural factors that play a role in Latinos’ limited resources is alarming but a reality that is still being learned. The primary influence that continues to influence and keep the Latino population strong is the priority of family.
     
    An additional resource for Latino ideology and perspectives on health can be found on the Latino Medicine page.
     

    Caring for a Latino Patient at Home

        Treatment for cancer can be given at home as well as in the hospital: pills, intravenous (IV) chemotherapy, IV antibiotics, subcutaneous injections, and other treatments.

        Anxiety and fear are common feelings that patients and families occasionally have when coping with cancer. The feelings often increase when the cancer patient is brought into the home. These feelings are normal because they're ways to cope with the stress of cancer. Feelings of fear or anxiety may be due to changes in the ability to function in family roles and positions, loss of control over events in life, changes in body image, fear of death, fear of suffering and pain, and fear of the unknown.

        Latino family members may experience these feelings because of fear that they did something wrong or "God" is punishing them. Frustration of not knowing a reason "why" or of not being able to "do enough" for the patient often increases with the initial diagnosis. If this happens, the most common response for a Latino family is to seek a support system through the immediate and then extended family members. The obligation and need to pray for strength and reassurance often increases when "tragedy" like illness strikes a Latino family.

     

    Case Study: The Morales Family

        In early 1996, at age 39, Mr. Morales began experiencing headaches and extended memory loss. As a worker, husband, and father to five children, Mr. Morales found himself forgetting everyday meetings, common locations, and personal information. His wife was insistent on his seeing a doctor. A machismo attitude was evident with his common reply of: "No, no. Nothing is wrong. It has just been a long day. A few aspirin will do the job. Just worry about the house and kids. Todo esta bien."

        Not even one month later, Mr. Morales’ forgetfulness worried his co-workers so much that they called Mrs. Morales at home. They asked if there were problems at home or with the family because Mr. Morales’ usual responsible manner at work was suffering a dramatic change. This prompted Mrs. Morales to insist on making a doctor's appointment for the following week. Mr. Morales agreed reluctantly.

        Barely two hours after the doctor's exams and tests, the Morales family received a phone call stating that "they had found something" in an x-ray. Thus began a long, life-altering journey for not just Mr. Morales, but for the whole family.

        The worst was confirmed from the tests. Yes, it was a malignant brain tumor located in the frontal lobe. Treatments would have to begin immediately. Mr. Morales’ whole world was collapsing right in front of his eyes. He wasn't ready for this. He had always been the "provider" for the family. He took care of all the money matters: the bills, the mortgage, the children's education, and the family's stability. Now he suddenly saw himself being put in a helpless position -- the position of a helpless child.

        It came all too soon: the surgery, radiation therapy, chemo-therapy. The treatments and side-effects were a shock but quickly an accepted condition. Schedules, activities, and attitudes were drastically changed with Mrs. Morales and the children. With children ranging in ages from 10 years old to 20 years old, the placement of responsibility was placed heavily on the elder children to care for the younger ones. Mrs. Morales was suddenly thrown into a economic and medical world that she was very unaware about. The hardships of emotion and education were unending and taken day-by-day.

        Along with medical treatments, Mr. Morales explored complementary therapies early after his diagnosis. They involved seeing a curandero, studying about folk remedies, and attending regular prayer meetings at his local church. Mr. Morales believed that if the complementary approaches wouldn't cure his illness, they would most certainly improve the quality of his life. His family's support and involvement with his therapies were key to his determination to fight the disease.

        Mr. Morales was very fortunate to have a full recovery from his brain tumor. Since 1997 he hasn't had any medical treatments. Mr. Morales has had regular MRIs to monitor for tumor recurrence, and they have all been completely clear.

        As a Latino male, prayer, support from his family and friends, his church's support, faith in God, and his belief that God is the reason that he exists at all contributed to Mr. Morales' survival. The medical treatments and technology could only help with the physical battle, but the mental and emotional battle was completely dependent on his environmental factors. It gave him a reason to fight and a reason to look forward to his family's future.
     

    Referrals

    Bibliography

     
    This web page was developed by Raquel Balderas to fulfill a requirement of the class CHI 21: Health Issues in the Chicano/Latino Community taught by Seline Szkupinski Quiroga in the Chicana & Chicano Studies Program at the University of California at Davis, Fall 1998.