 | Cushie Calendar
Week of July 15 2018 |  |
What You Should Know About Pituitary Tumors
Sunday Jul 15
Treatments may include surgery, radiation therapy or medication. Transsphenoidal surgery is surgery performed through the nose and sphenoid sinus (located in the very back part of the nose, just beneath the base of the brain) to remove a pituitary tumor. It can be performed with an endoscope, microscope or both and is a team effort between neurosurgeons and ear, nose and throat (otolaryngology/ENT) surgeons. Radiation therapy uses high-energy x-rays to kill the tumor cells and is recommended when surgery is not an option, if the pituitary tumor remains, or if the tumor causes symptoms that are not relieved by medicine. Read more at https://cushieblog.com/2017/02/15/what-you-should-know-about-pituitary-tumors/ Adrenal Insufficiency: Primary and Secondary
Sunday Jul 15
Adrenal insufficiency is a condition that develops when most of the adrenal gland is not functioning normally. Primary adrenal insufficiency arises due to the damage of the glands or because of using drugs that halt synthesis of cortisol. On the other hand, secondary adrenal insufficiency stems from processes that inhibit the secretion of the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) by the hypophysis as a result of a hypothalamic or pituitary pathology. The former is sometimes also referred to as tertiary adrenal insufficiency. Read more at https://cushieblog.com/2016/11/20/adrenal-insufficiency-primary-and-secondary/ Cathy T, Pituitary Bio
Monday Jul 16
Cathy is from Wellington, New Zealand and had the left side of her pituitary gland removed and a BLA. Cathy has been through 2 cycles of IVF fertility treatment and the second one worked. She had a baby girl. Cathy updated her bio in September 2009. She has another new 5mm tumour on the right side of her pituitary gland. She has Nelsons Syndrome and Addison's after having both adrenals removed. They want to give her radiation and she's looking for suggestions. Read more at https://cushingsbios.com/2017/10/16/cathy-t-pituitary-bio/ Interview with Terry G, pituitary patient
Monday Jul 16
Terry (Terry) is a long time pituitary Cushing’s survivor. Terry had a pituitary surgery (in LA) in October of 2003 which did not cure her Cushing’s Disease. Then, Dec 13th, 2003 she had her BLA in a Wisconsin hospital. She also had an infection in her sphenoid sinus. It originated at the site of her pituitary surgery from October 2003. She had to be on a lot of antibiotics and narcotic pain relievers. In Sept 2005 the surgeon remove the infection from one area, making another area clear….. Listen at https://cushieblogger.com/2018/04/16/archived-interview-with-terry-g-pituitary-patient/ Mild Cases of Cushing's Syndrome Present Diagnostic Challenges
Monday Jul 16
'It can be challenging to differentiate the milder forms from pseudo-Cushing's states,' which are characterized by altered cortisol production and many of the same clinical features as Cushing's syndrome, according to Roberto Salvatori, MD, the medical director of the Johns Hopkins Pituitary Center, Baltimore, Maryland. These may include alcoholism, obesity, eating disorders, and depression. 'Because Cushing's can cause depression, for example, it is sometimes difficult to determine which came first,' he says. In these states, however, hypercortisolism is believed to be driven by increased secretion of hypothalamic corticotropin-releasing hormone, which is suppressed in Cushing's syndrome Read more at https://cushieblog.com/2017/08/16/mild-cases-of-cushings-syndrome-present-diagnostic-challenges/ Add or update Your Bio
Tuesday Jul 17
The Add Your Bio form has been updated so that it no longer requires Flash. Your information will help others.
I would like to add that if anyone would like to do something for the Cushing's Awareness Challenge but you don't have (or want to have) a blog, why not consider adding your bio to the website this month?
More info at http://www.cushings-help.com/forms/bio.htm Yes, You Need a Medical Alert Bracelet!
Wednesday Jul 18
#3– DO NOT MAKE IT “PRETTY” OR “NOT SO OBVIOUS”. I can not stress this enough. Ladies I know that you want the cute ones that look like normal bracelets, and have pretty charms, etc on them… THE ENTIRE point of a medical alert bracelet is that someone needs to see it and know that they should look at it. If it looks like a regular bracelet or regular necklace and it isn’t obvious within the first 3 seconds once we get to you and look in the obvious places (neck/wrist). it will NOT get seen. I promise you, we are too busy trying to play the guessing game of why you are not responding, than to take a look at every single piece of regular jewelry and see if it might have a really small inscribing of what is wrong with you. Once again. Make it noticeable. We will see that we need to look at it. Once we do. The guessing game is more than likely OVER. and we can begin to treat you appropriately. Read more at https://cushieblog.com/2017/07/18/yes-you-need-a-medical-alert-bracelet/ Charles Horace Mayo was born in 1865
Thursday Jul 19
(1865) American medical practitioner Charles Horace Mayo is born. He is one of the founders of the Mayo Clinic, a non-profit medical practice and medical research group. He also specialized in nervous system and thyroid surgery. Adrenal Insufficiency
Friday Jul 20
In simple terms, Adrenal Insufficiency occurs when the body does not have enough cortisol in it. You see, cortisol is life sustaining and we actually do need cortisol to survive. You have probably seen the commercials about 'getting rid of extra belly fat' by lowering your cortisol. These advertisements make it hard for people to actually understand the importance of the function of cortisol.
Read more at http://www.cushings-info.com/index.php?title=Adrenal_Insufficiency Long-acting pasireotide safe, effective for recurrent Cushing’s disease
Friday Jul 20
“Surgical resection of the causative pituitary adenoma is the first-line treatment of choice for most patients with Cushing’s disease, which leads to remission in greater than 75% of patients if done by an expert pituitary surgeon,” Andre Lacroix, MD, professor in the department of medicine at University of Montreal teaching hospital, and colleagues wrote in the study background. “However, surgery is not always successful, and disease recurrence can occur several years after initial remission, while some patients refuse or are not candidates for surgery. As a result, many patients require additional treatment options.” Read more at https://cushieblog.com/2017/10/20/long-acting-pasireotide-safe-effective-for-recurrent-cushings-disease/ Into the brain through the nostrils
Saturday Jul 21
Image-guided (navigation-assisted) endoscopic trans-nasal trans-sphenoidal pituitary surgery is what we are about to view being performed in the country (Sri Lanka) only since October this year. For, the 38-year-old patient lying inert on the operating table has a tumour just above her pituitary gland, between the optic nerves and the carotid arteries, making it a difficult operation-site to access. (The pea-size pituitary gland is dubbed the ‘master gland’ as it produces many hormones for the whole body, while also stimulating other glands to produce other hormones.) Read more at https://cushieblog.com/2016/12/21/into-the-brain-through-the-nostrils-sri-lanka/
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It's unbelievable but the idea for Cushing's Help and Support arrived 18 years ago tonight.
