Why do I keep seeing stories of children with inoperable brain cancer?

There is now a little bit of hope for children with DIPG/diffuse midline gliomas.

https://www.thebrighterside.news/post/13-year-old-boy-is-the-first-ever-patient-to-be-cured-of-extremely-deadly-brain-cancer

Luckily my algorithm gives me Golden Retrievers

It’s because May is brain tumor awareness month. And the fact that most people think it’s only your algorithm means it’s very much needed. I think if you find kids dying of cancer upsetting then you ought it to yourself to do your research and support Pediatric research because yes it would be “rare”/unlikely that your kid would end up with it but it could STILL be your kid. And if it ends up being your kid you would find it horrifying to realize that pediatric cancers only get 4% of cancer treatment & research budgets making treatment options a lot less available and not at all tailored to children (most kids are under protocols created for adults in mind not kids which means many of them die of the treatment before they die of the disease and even if they survive their chance of developing a secondary cancer due to the treatment is HIGH).

DIPG & DMG brain cancer (malignant tumors of the brain stem), are inoperable and have a 0% survival rate. The treatment for it has barely evolved since the 60’s (though a few new stem cells trials in recent years.) there is litterally no currative option for it because people haven’t began to try and cure it as they see it as rare (hundreds of kids die of DIPG/DMG each year which is hundreds too many). Imagine your kid dying a slow drown out death losing all bodily function one by one (sight, speech and hearing including but NOT their awareness nor consciousness) and becoming fully trapped in their body and having zero hope of stopping it or surviving it. That’s DIPG/DMG and it’s not rare.

so yes be upset because kids shouldn’t be dying of cancer and if they are (which they are) they shouldn’t only be getting 4% of cancer research budgets and administered adult protocols. They should have a better options, and a better shot at surviving. So I would say be upset now for other children in case one day it does end up being your kid because then you will want the best options and the hope of a cure.

The fact that very few people know about DIPG and other childhood cancers yet everyone know about the pink ribbons and breast cancer awareness month really highlight the fact that somehow our society has really brushed pediatric cancers under the rug and unfortunately most people become aware of pediatric cancers once their kid is diagnosed or a family member or school friend gets diagnosed.

Pandas. I’m inundated with posts about pandas. I don’t even remember watching one video about a panda and suddenly it’s every other post.

Out of curiosity (not planning on using it), I researched weight loss drugs. Holy crap the amount of adds I get are out of control. I swear it's every other Facebook post I now see

My usual fare is pretty ungodly as it is. I almost wonder if I've been marked out as a potential convert 😅

It’s so weird when it goes rogue. For a while I got a load of trad wife stuff and had to actively search out some feminist videos to counter balance it.
Maybe hunt down a few devil worship ones to knock your algorithm out of whack?

Just you wait till it turns against you, and you're getting "Three Hours of Jazz Worship Instrumentals to Rise You Up in His Name" and "Why Your Church Worship Setup Needs This Massive Bass Driver" ad infinitum 😒

I hovered once (possibly twice) on a video of a rugby team doing their stretches and now I’m sent all manner of enjoyable videos. I can highly recommend this particular algorithm.

Algorithms you say? I’m not sure anyone considered that before, I think you could be on to something there…

It’s algorithms. Try not to worry. A lot of life is out of our control (I know that’s scarier until the point where you accept it). Awful, horrible things happen but they are rare. Extreme events good or bad are rare. Just as winning the lottery jackpot happens to someone in the UK every week or so but it’s likely none of us ever will.

Don’t be ridiculous. It could be something to do with the algorithm.

well, if you click on one storey once, you get lots of similar stories after

hmmm, reading some of the replies I just wanted to add that it could be the algorithm? 😂

Sadly children suffering from brain tumours is not a new thing, however social media obviously is.

We lost our 4 year old niece to a brain tumour 13 years ago. My friend’s son developed at brain tumour when he was 2, that was 46 years ago.

Myself.

I'm still trying to work out what mystic was a typo for.

When I was a kid, there was lots of stuff about kids getting meningitis - I remember a big display of leaflets and posters in our leisure centre, etc. I couldn't get heat rash without mum coming at me with a glass! But I never knew anyone who'd had it.

It makes sense that families who've had these illnesses pop up want to raise awareness of initial symptoms that they and maybe their GPs didn't grasp the seriousness of at first. But not every rash is meningitis, not every headache is a tumour.

No one gets a reporter and photographer round to tell everyone about their perfectly average, healthy child.

A couple of weeks ago I watched a short video on YouTube demonstrating how "cause I'm a paper chaser" sounds exactly like "cause I'm a big fucking slut". After the clip, it started autoplaying some sort of contemporary Christian worship music, which I immediately stopped.

Ever since, YouTube's been recommending me dozens upon dozens of terrible Christian worship music videos. I click "not interested" on every one, but they keep coming.

Bastard algorithm.

Algorithms, yes. But also they aren't as rare as we would like to think. I know of two little girls just in our local area (each friends of friends)

I clicked on one video about a particularly large crocodile about six months ago and ever since I’ve had nothing but crocodile videos recommended to me. Unfortunately, I’ve clicked one or two, so now I get even more. It’s a pit you can’t climb out of.

The algorithm! I went though a period on Twitter of bereaved parents on my feed. They had all tragically lost children to cancer or suicide. It really got me down but also made me appreciate how dangerous these algorithms are as it's just plays to one narrative with no balanced perspective.

It's the algorithm. I keep getting videos suggested about a particular type of cancer despite never having watched a video about it.

Social media algorithms. Try clearing your cookies and cache.

Because if you've clicked in one video about something 'the algorithm' thinks you are interested in it so shows you more of the same.