Peritonitis
By Liam

Many a year ago my Grandfather underwent a hip replacement surgery, an operation which generally results in several days in hospital. In this particular instance however, he spent just over five months in intensive care due to a series of very peculiar events.
His hip replacement surgery was a great success, but as he waited in recovery there was a mistake made by the hospital staff; the surgery causes loss of intestinal function and solid food cannot be consumed until the body has regained this function - but he was given solid food despite this setback. The resulting problems involved a nicely blocked intestine and further surgery was required.
As a result of this surgery, his intestine was mistakenly perforated and bacteria which is only beneficial in that area flooded his body cavity. My Grandfather had just received a raging case of PERITONITIS.
This disease causes inflammation of the "peritoneum", a membrane which lines the abdominal cavity in the body. Often this can be caused by infection from a ruptured hollow organ, in my Grandfather's case his lower intestine. Peritonitis results in abdominal distension, and if untreated is fatal in nearly every situation.
There are three types of Peritonitis. The first is "Spontaneous Peritonitis." This can be caused by liver or kidney failure, which results in the infection of "ascites" (fluid in the abdominal cavity). The second type is called "Secondary Peritonitis", the "secondary" meaning that it is due to another condition. This is the type or Peritonitis which my Grandfather was diagnosed with, due to the puncture in his intestine. Secondary Peritonitis may also, however, occur when bile or pancreatic enzymes leak into the abdominal cavity. The third and final type of Peritonitis is "Dialysis Associated" Peritonitis. This happens when an organ fails and dialysis (involving a machine which will perform the function of that organ) causes bacteria to move from a certain area of the body which does not belong in the abdominal cavity into precisely that spot.
During my Grandfather's struggle in the hospital, he received a splenectomy (removal of spleen) and litres of fluid needed to be removed from his lungs as he was lying still for months on end. His freshly completed hip joint was immobile. Since his body was recognizing it as a foreign object, making it extremely susceptible to infection, the last battalion of bacteria was swarming that area. In a leap of faith by the surgical staff, the artificial hip was removed completely and not replaced for 6 months!
During that time wire structures were placed inside the empty socket impregnated with antibiotic "beads." Antibiotic bead therapy does not use biodegradable materials and the wire needs to be removed from the body after the therapy is finished.
Today he is 83 years old and in excellent condition.

Mitochondrial Disease

  Mitochondrial Disease(Mitochondrial Myopathies) are a group of neuromuscular diseases caused by faulty or damaged mitochondria. The energy converters of the body cannont change refined sugars that the body intakes and changes itto ATP. ATP is the currency that our body uses for energy. Nerve cells to the brain and muscles require the mostenergy from the body so when mitochondrial myopathies occurs several symptoms would effect the brain and or muscles.Their are many types of mitochondrial disease because it can effect any organ, muscle and nerves.

 Symptoms include poor growth, loss of muscle coordination, muscle weakness, visual problems, hearing problems, learning disabilities, mental retardation, heart disease, liver disease, kidney disease, gastrointestinal disorders, respiratory disorders,neurological problems, autonomic dysfunction, and dementia.

 Causes of Mitochondrial Disease are possible threw Mutation, acquired or inherited. Drugs and Infections can also cause the mitochondria to become faulty.Mitochondrial DNA mutations occur frequently, due to the lack of the error checking capability that mitochondrial DNA has.This means that mitochondrial DNA disorders may occur spontaneously and relatively often. Defects in enzymes that control mitochondrial DNA replication may also cause mitochondrial  DNA mutations.The effects of mitochondrial disease can be quite varied. Since the distribution of the defective mitochondrial DNA may vary from organ to organ within the body, someone with faulty mitochondria cells in the brain may suffer from dementia when someone with faulty cells in the liver might have liver failure.

 Having to live with this disease would make my life not worth living at all, My passion is physical activities
and is my strongest attribute as a person, I wouldn't want to live if i couldn't push my body to the limits that
I currently reach. Living with this disease would bring along numerous surgeries. Having this disease would erase  the ideal life that a person would want to live because usually the person spends their life on a hospital bed, dependent on IV's for survival consisting of nutrients for the body and IV fluid each day, also a machine to assist breathing. Basic functions make you exhausted. Its hard for people who suffer from mito to keep up with friends and society, causing them to have a lower self esteem and possibly acquire depression.


Mitochondrial Disease is mysterious and experts are working hard to find a cure and better treatment. The symptoms can be so vast which makes it all that harder to pin point a cure. The causes of mito are simply natural and cant  stop it from happening. Having to live with disease would destroy my life and I don't think i could deal with being taken care of. This disease is as common as cystic fibrosis.

                                                                                                    Connor Ferguson

Lung cancer

Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the uncontrollled growth of abnormal cells in the lung. Normal lung tissue is made up of cells that are programmed by genes to create lung tissue in a certain shape and to perform certain funtions. lung cancer developes when the genetic material responsible for production of cells is damaged. Repeated exposure to carsinogens such as tobacco smoke can lead to damage in lung cells.


The mutations in the genetic material of the cells cause the intsructions for those cells to make the cells reproduce wildly, without regard for the normal shape and function of a lung. The wild reproduction causes the formation of tumors that block air passages in the lung and make it stop functioning properly.


Lung cancer is divided into two major types. The first type is small cell cancer. the second non-small cell cancer. Sometimes a lung cancer may have characteristics of both types, this is called mixed small/large cell carcinoma. About 20% of all lung cancers are small cell lung cancer. it is named for the size of the cells, although each of the cells are smaller they can multiply quickly and form large tumors and can easily spread to other organs. non-small cell represents about 80% of all cases of lung cancer, it usually causes tumors.


Tobacco and the additives in cigarettes have been reconized as the number one cause of lung cancer, over 80% of lung cancers are directly linked to smoking. Other factors that could cause lung cancer is genetics. Carcinogens like radon and asbestos can also lead to lng cancers.


There are several types of treatments for lung cancer, one type of treatment is surgery. The surgery removesw the cancerous tumors from the lung, and is called a lobectomy. Chemotherapy drugs kill cancer cells as they travel through the bloodstream and into all the organs of the body, however the medicine can have brutal effects on the users body.

celiac disease

Sam Whitworth Celiac Disease

Celiac Disease is a disorder that occurs in the small intestine. Persons of all ages can have the disease. People with celiac disease can not eat foods with gluten, wheat, barley, and rye in them. Some issues that have to deal with celiac disease are financial, dietary, clinical, and medicinal. These make celiac disease a disadvantage. Celiac disease is one disease that may not be as serious as most, but still has its ways of being a affective condition

The financial issues with having celiac disease involves the food that you eat. You cannot eat foods that contain gluten. If you wanted to eat something like bread, you can buy some that contains no gluten, but would be more expensive. Most foods that contain no gluten are more expensive ones. Pizza and French fries are foods you cannot eat if you have celiac disease. Some people become upset from that, but can result for them to have a better diet. Alcohol is not great to have with this disease because most have grains in them. You have to be pretty careful with a lot of your foods when having this disease.

Symptoms with celiac disease are mostly minor. You can get diarrhoea, or have problems with fatigue. This only happens when you have foods that contain wheat, or gluten. The diarrhoea occurs from your small intestines not being able to digest the wheat, and gluten foods. Your fatigue is affected from your diarrhoea. With younger children who have the disease, there ability to gain or loss weight can be affected. There metabolism is effected from the disease which causes wait issues to younger children. Symptoms like cramping, appetite, dehydration, and fatigue are part of a physical state. Emotional changes like depression is common with the disease. Bone disease is an additional condition that is involved with celiac disease to involve towards other symptoms towards the disease.

There are not very many medicinal issues with celiac disease. You will not need any medicine as long as you don’t eat any foods that contain gluten, wheat, or rye in it. If you do eat any foods that contains those things, there are medicines that you can use to make things better. Vitamin pills are very important for you to have, where you need the vitamins to digest. Calcium, and iron are also good too to keep yourself healthy. The only thing that is needed for medication when you have celiac disease are when you are lacking of something in your system. You are living normally like everyone else, but can only not eat foods that contain gluten, wheat or barely.

Celiac disease is not a very serious, but you would rather not have it. Your diet changes when you get the disease. With food getting more expensive for you, you are also staying off alcohol. With staying off the alcohol, you are saving money there anyways, if you are having to avoid alcohol in that case. The symptoms with celiac disease are caused by yourself. You just have to follow your diet, and be healthy. Medicines aren’t popular with celiac disease, but making poor decisions, or lacking a daily need may result in some medication. You may be missing out on good food, and alcohol, but this disease is better to have then a lot of other ones in the world.

Uterine (Endometrial) Cancer
The most common cancer of the female reproductive organs is the cancer of the uterus. There are two types of uterine cancer: carcinoma and sarcoma. Uterine cancer (endometrial carcinoma) starts in the lining inside the uterus. Uterine sarcoma starts in the muscle layers of the uterus. And the most important risk factor for endometrial cancer has to do with the hormone estrogen.
Cancer in some of your relatives is really tragic for the family. And possibility for you to get it too scares a lot. Family has to spend a lot of time and to take care about sick person. It is also really stressful for relatives to see how bad she feels about this disease.
Financial side of this disease is not really good. A person loses employment so he can’t work. She also needs to spend a lot of money for the treatment such as surgery which costs not a little. And expense for the equipment or medication is important too. All procedures are really expensive. Insurance may not pay for all expenses so it is another money problem.
Clinical side includes treatment, medications and side effects of surgery. Treatment for the uterine cancer usually includes surgical removal of the cervix, uterus, ovaries and fallopian tubes. There are a couple types of medications such as chemotherapy and hormone therapy. The first one includes doxobicin, cisplatin, paclitaxel, carboplatin and topotecan. Hormone therapy includes hydroxyprogesterone and megesterol. Women with stage 1 disease who are at increased risk for recurrence and those with stage 2 disease are often offered surgery in combination with radiation therapy. Chemotherapy may be considered in some cases, especially for those with stage 3 and 4 disease. Side effects may be different in each person and depend on a variety of factors. Side effects can even change from one treatment to the next.
Unfortunately, there is no cure yet for cancer. And we have only one way to protect ourselves that to lead doctors’ advices about keeping reasonable healthy lifestyle.

Kawasaki Disease

Kawasaki Disease is an infection that can be very dangerous if not taken care of when diagnosed. This is a very rare disease that occurs mostly in children from birth to age 5. Kawasaki Disease mostly occurs in Japan and the area’s that surround it. In this essay you will learn about the effects that this disease would have on your family and friends, the effects it will have on your diet, the causes and symptoms and the effects on your quality of life.

Kawasaki Disease and the effects on your quality of life. If you are diagnosed with kawasaki disease (mostly at a young age) if they have treatment right away then if they are lucky will not have many health problems in the future. Some health problems that you may encounter if not treated properly could include blood problems, and sometimes even heart attacks. Also you need to go in for regular check ups to make sure that the problem does not come back. Also this could effect your quality of life in the way that you have to go through a lot of treatments, and you have to spend a lot of time in the hospital.

Kawasaki Disease has very specific symptoms to look for, and at first you may even think its is just a head cold or just a fever, and that is why you have to look for all of the symptoms and not only a few. Some of these symptoms include chapped, cracked and/ or red lips. Swollen hands and feet, swelling on both sides of the body, and or joint pain. Skin rashes, peeling skin mostly on the hands and feet. Vomiting, diarrhea and cough, and an extremely high temperature. There is no cause for this disease that doctors have found how ever they believe it to be am autoimmune disease meaning that your body mistakes and attacks healthy body tissues.

Kawasaki Disease can have major effects on not only you but also your friends and family. When you have kawasaki disease I think that it can effect your friends and family a lot more then you would normally think because i have been in the position as a sister of someone with kawasaki disease. If you are going through this then you will want all of your friends and your family at your side because going through things like this infection by yourself can be painful and also when you have this, and you are in the hospital you will be having lots of tests and IV needles and things that you cant go through on your own.

This disease can have many effects on your diet, there are certain things that you can and can not eat when you have this infection. For example when you are sick you have symptoms of vomiting and because of that you can not eat many things and i have seen it, of how someone can starve them self because of this. My brother was sick for 3 weeks with Kawasaki Disease, and i saw the major impact that it had on his life, he lost a lot of weight by having this sickness, and it was really scary to see because at the time the doctors had no idea what was wrong with him.

Kawasaki Disease from a sisters point of view. When my brother got sick my entire family and the doctors had no idea what was wrong with him because he was 13 at the time and this normally happens in children 5 or under. So they had to do lots of different tests on my brother to try and find out what was wrong with him because he had been sick for a week and was not getting better at all. So once they found out what was wrong with him, the doctors had to put him on severe medication to try and get a hold of the disease. When all of this was going on my younger siblings and I were kept in the dark, all we were told was that he was very sick and that they did not know what was wrong with him at the time. This experience was the scariest moment on my life because i thought that i was going to lose my brother to something that my parents were not telling me about. When i went to go and see my brother in the hospital, it was the scariest thing i had ever seen, he was attached to several different machines and he had lots of needles and things in his body to try and feed him for all the food that he couldn’t eat. I had never seen my brother looking that un healthy. He was sick and thin, and he looked very unhealthy. It was very scary seeing my brother in that much pain, he could not move or eat or sleep. There was no way of knowing if he was going to be okay, and because of that, i chose kawasaki disease as my essay topic.

Secondary Liver Cancer~~~~Marisa Arnold

I was 4 years old when my grandfather Joseph Arnold passed away. He was diagnosed with Secondary Liver Cancer when he was 72 and died when he was 75. If I had known him longer, I would’ve remembered more, but from what I do know, he was an amazing person. He and my grandmother Rose lived in Red Deer, Alberta on a little farm. Whenever we would visit, my brother and I would get up early and rush downstairs to find him in his favorite chair by the fireplace with 2 pieces of licorice for us before we had breakfast. Red licorice was my grandpa’s favorite. He always had a package of it on hand when he would be out digging ditches, doing farm work, or delivering milk to near neighbors. Grandpa Joe was diagnosed with Secondary Liver cancer in 1995; I was only 1 year old. Since I couldn’t remember much about grandpa Joe I asked my dad to describe him for me. He reminisced for hours about when he was younger and how his dad was always there for him. Something I can remember about grandpa Joe is that he was always smiling. It didn’t matter where we were or what situation we were in; he would always find the bright side. I was at Banbury Green RV Park in Penticton, B.C. when I was told about what had happened. My daddy had planned to fly out the day after he was told how sick his dad was, but my grandpa didn’t make it. I was notified from my mom after picking apples with Suzanne Justice in the orchard. Losing grandpa Joe was one of the hardest things I went through when I was younger, and I never knew how he died until this essay.

Secondary Liver Cancer is the most common type of cancer for anyone. Often times it is virtually impossible to trace the origin of the cancer as was the case with my grandpa. He was hardly in the hospital, other than when he had a few surgeries and when he was first treated. For treatment grandpa Joe was really nerved that he would need to be injected with something or have to go into chemo radiation. He was then as my mom described it “greatly relieved” to know that the chemo therapy he needed could be taken in pill form. The cancer that consisted in his liver would feed off testosterone, so unfortunately for grandpa Joe; he had to get one of his testicles removed. As for treatment grandpa Joe fought hard and made it through 3 years with the cancer but when he got really sick he only had weeks to live.

Growing up as a farmer my grandpa was a meat and potatoes kind of guy. He wasn’t big on fruit and veggies and he almost never ate salad. After he was diagnosed with the cancer, he was told that if he had good health it could increase his life expectancy rate. After living his whole life with meat as the basis of his everyday meals his nutrition was probably his biggest obstacle to overcome. After living his life with meat as the basis of every meal, it was difficult for him to get used to eating healthier. He did the best he could and it contributed to his 3 years of life with cancer. The best part about grandpa Joe was even though he had cancer, he was still the happiest he had ever been.

From my grandpa’s death, there is something we learned. Since my dad never made it to red deer to see his dad before he died, he realized how hard it was for him to live a province away. As my family was talking about my grandpa’s death I asked them what affect it had on us and my mom responded with “it means you’re never allowed to leave home”. My dad elaborated explaining that it has helped us appreciate how important it is for us to stay close when I’m growing up. I really take this to heart because my parents are the most important thing in the world to me and if I wasn’t there for my dad when he was sick I wouldn’t ever forgive myself. Hearing my dad explain how he had a choice of if they wanted to drive through the night or wait until the morning to get on the military flight was really difficult for me. I could hear the regret in his voice. My dad feels guilty for thinking the best thing to do was to fly home to Red Deer in the early morning, because my grandpa died in the night. I don’t ever want to feel the pain I can tell he feels.

Although Secondary Liver Cancer isn’t genetic it still worries me every time my mom and dad get sick. My parents have had their share of hospital time with viruses and broken bones and I’m always going to worry about them. I love my parents and I loved my grandpa Joe. Grandpa Joe’s memory will live on in our hearts forever. Although my grandpa didn’t survive this disease, I hope that research in treatment for this cancer will extend the life of future patients.

http://www.cancercenter.com/secondary_liver_cancer.cfm

http://www.healthscout.com/ency/68/686/main.html

http://www.cancersurvivalrates.net/liver-cancer-survival-rates.html