Brain Cancer

Gary Carter, a Hall of Fame catcher from Fullerton who helped lift the New York Mets to a dramatic victory over the Boston Red Sox in the 1986 World Series, died Thursday in Florida. He was 57 and had brain cancer. Nicknamed "Kid" for his grit and youthful exuberance, Carter was an 11-time All-Star who hit .262 with 324 home runs and 1,225 runs batted in during 19 seasons playing for the Montreal Expos, Mets, San Francisco Giants and Dodgers. His goal to become a major league manager unfulfilled, Carter was coaching at Palm Beach Atlantic University near his Florida home last May when he experienced headaches and forgetfulness and was diagnosed with brain cancer.

J. David Kuo, 44, an evangelical Christian and former top official of President George W. Bush's faith-based initiative who later accused the administration of failing to live up to the president's promise of "compassionate conservatism," died Friday of cancer. Kuo's family announced his death Saturday on his Facebook page. "Last night at 10:25 our beloved David found his reward in heaven, with his savior Jesus Christ," the family wrote. "With a peaceful last breath, he won his courageous 10-year battle against brain cancer.

Reporting from Paris -- When he was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor 20 years ago, David Servan-Schreiber, the French-born doctor, neuroscientist and later bestselling author, took the phrase "physician, heal thyself" to heart. Submitting to the punishing traditional treatments of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, he still felt there was something more he could do to enhance his chances of survival. FOR THE RECORD: An earlier version of this article incorrectly reported the name of David Servan-Schreiber's wife in the list of survivors and omitted two children.

Actress Valerie Harper plans to discuss her brain cancer with some television doctors. The daytime talk show "The Doctors" said Harper will appear Monday to talk with Travis Stork, Lisa Masterson and Andrew Ordon, as well as her own team of doctors. The 1970s sitcom star has been diagnosed with a rare brain cancer and told she has as little as three months to live. She said her husband briefly withheld the diagnosis from her because it was so dire. Harper, now 73, played Rhoda Morgenstern on television's "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and its spinoff, "Rhoda.

Brain tumors may soon encounter a new weapon. The Food and Drug Administration has approved a new device that uses electrical energy to kill brain cancer cells. The device, approved for those who have malignant tumors known as glioblastoma multiforme, adds a potential new alternative to chemotherapy for patients with advanced brain tumors. The device, called NovoTTF, delivers low-intensity electrical fields directly to a patient’s scalp via four electrodes. The electrical fields appear to interfere with the process of cell division, halting the tumor’s growth.

In the short time they've been around, cellphones have changed the world. Just 20 years ago -- if you can believe it -- you had to discuss dinner plans before you arrived at the grocery store. And just 20 years ago, you didn't have to field work calls until you were actually at work. Cellphones gave us new ways to stay connected. For some, they also provided a new reason for worry. Cellphones release microwave radiation when they're in use, a fact that inevitably led to fears of brain cancer.

Brain cancer has increased by up to 500% among elderly Americans, a trend that an expert at the National Cancer Institute calls "alarming" because the disease is almost always fatal. "It once was considered that brain tumors reached a peak rate (among people in their 30s) and then would rapidly decline in the older population, but it now appears that the incidence continues to increase with age," said Nigel H. Greig, a National Institute on Aging researcher. "I think it is alarming."

The development of brain cancer is strongly linked to the lack of a protein that repairs DNA damage, University of Washington researchers have found. The protein, known as MGMT, defends brain cells against damage caused by nitrosamines, a cancer-causing chemical found in such products as beer, bacon and tobacco smoke. Many people who develop brain tumors lack enough MGMT to repair DNA damage caused by those agents, the researchers said.

The Food and Drug Administration approved the first significant new treatment for brain cancer in two decades--a drug that is inserted into brain tissue from which a tumor has been removed. The procedure fights malignant glioma, a fast-spreading cancer that affects about 8,000 people in America each year, by delivering the drug directly to the tumor site in high concentrations. The disease has proved resistant to conventional treatment methods like surgery and radiation.

Scientists will attack brain cancers by infecting tumor cells with a herpes gene and then killing the cancer with a herpes drug, under an experimental therapy approved by a federal committee Monday. The experimental therapy, proposed by medical scientists at the University of Iowa, was approved unanimously Monday by a National Institutes of Health committee. It now must be approved by the NIH director and by the Food and Drug Administration. Dr. Kenneth W.

Valerie Harper's announcement this week that she has been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer sent a shock wave through her fan base, who remembers her as the feisty and lovable Rhoda Morgenstern from "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Rhoda. " But now that the news has had a few days to sink in, she's talking about it in depth. Harper will appear on NBC's "Today" and the syndicated daytime talk show "The Doctors" on Monday to discuss her diagnosis with the show's hosts. She'll also appear on CBS' "The Talk" on Wednesday.

Valerie Harper, best known for playing Rhoda Morgenstern on the beloved 1970s sitcoms "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and "Rhoda," has revealed she has terminal brain cancer. The actress, who also starred for two years on the '80s sitcom, "Valerie," told People magazine , "I don't think of dying. I think of being here now. " Tests have determined Harper has leptomeningeal carcinomatosis, a condition that happens when cancer spreads to the fluid surrounding the brain. According to the magazine, her doctors say she may have just three months to live.

Marqise Lee had just begun speaking with a huddle of reporters Friday when safety T.J. McDonald trotted by en route to the locker room. "He should have won the Heisman!" McDonald yelled. Lee only laughed. The sophomore was regarded as a Heisman Trophy candidate after catching 112 passes and ranking among the national leaders in all-purpose yardage. But he did not garner enough votes to earn a trip to New York for Saturday's Heisman show and announcement. On Thursday, during a nationally televised awards show in Florida, Lee won the Biletnikoff Award, presented to college football's top receiver.

A common type of brain tumor may be caused by mature adult cells being genetically "rewound" to a more immature state, according to a study in the journal Science . The discovery could pave the way for improved brain cancer treatments. The cancer that was studied, called glioblastoma multiforme, is the most common type of brain tumor. It is also the most aggressive. Researchers had previously thought that the tumors were generated by neural stem cells gone awry rather than adult cells, which were not thought to have a natural ability to revert to an earlier state of development.

Investigators probing the death of "Top Gun" director Tony Scott said they still don't know why he plunged from the Vincent Thomas Bridge on Sunday. Law enforcement sources said several notes Scott left do not mention any health problems or offer solid clues about why he jumped. It's possible, the sources said, that authorities might never make a clear determination of motive. An autopsy was performed Monday. But, as in many cases, the coroner said a final cause of death would not be determined until toxicology and other test results became available in several weeks.

Director Tony Scott, who died in an apparent suicide Sunday, was suffering from a serious physical ailment, according to two people close to Scott who did not want to be identified because of the personal nature of the relationships. ABC News, quoting a source close to the director-producer, is reporting that Scott had inoperable brain cancer. The two people close to Scott said they did not know the nature of his illness. Scott, 68, was the director of such films as "Top Gun," "Beverly Hills Cop II" and "Man on Fire.

A protein that inhibits the growth of cancer-causing stem cells and turns them into normal brain cells may become an effective therapy for deadly brain tumors, researchers have reported in the journal Nature. A team led by Angelo Vescovi of the University of Milan-Bicocca in Italy took cancer stem cells removed from people with glioblastomas, the deadliest kind of primary brain cancer, and exposed them in a laboratory dish to a protein called BMP.

Republican National Chairman Lee Atwater was admitted to New York's Montefiore Medical Center Monday to undergo an innovative radiation treatment for brain cancer--a growth initially said to be non-malignant when Atwater's illness first became known last month.

As few as two CT scans of the head in childhood can triple the risk of developing brain tumors, while five to 10 such scans can triple the risk of leukemia, British researchers reported Wednesday. The absolute risk of developing the cancers remains small, but the study illuminates the dangers of unnecessary use of X-ray imaging in diagnosis. The development of CT (computed tomography) scanning was one of the major developments of 20th century medicine because it allowed physicians to look inside the body more accurately than a conventional X-ray.

Gary Carter, a Hall of Fame catcher from Fullerton who helped lift the New York Mets to a dramatic victory over the Boston Red Sox in the 1986 World Series, died Thursday in Florida. He was 57 and had brain cancer. Nicknamed "Kid" for his grit and youthful exuberance, Carter was an 11-time All-Star who hit .262 with 324 home runs and 1,225 runs batted in during 19 seasons playing for the Montreal Expos, Mets, San Francisco Giants and Dodgers. His goal to become a major league manager unfulfilled, Carter was coaching at Palm Beach Atlantic University near his Florida home last May when he experienced headaches and forgetfulness and was diagnosed with brain cancer.