Your Questions About Teratoma

Artie answers:

The Miracle of the Cards (2001)
Miracle of the cards indeed. Craig Shergold, an eight year old English cancer patient broke the Guinness world record of 1,000,256 for the number of get-well cards received by one individual.

Skeptical and atheist reporter, Josh (Kirk Cameron) was sent to investigate. Visiting Craig's mother, Marion (Catherine Oxenberg) Josh heard the line-by-line accounting of the miracle of the cards. Josh expected to reveal an over-sensationalized distortion of a simple happening but found instead real and hard facts that God intervenes.

Artie answers:

Usually they are benign, but some are cancerous.

Http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teratoma

Artie answers:

A teratoma is a type of neoplasm (specifically, a tumor). The word teratoma comes from Greek and means roughly 'monstrous tumor.' Definitive diagnosis of a teratoma is based on its histology: a teratoma is a tumor with tissue or organ components resembling normal derivatives of all three germ layers. Rarely, not all three germ layers are identifiable. The tissues of a teratoma, although normal in themselves, may be quite different from surrounding tissues, and may be highly inappropriate, even grotesque (hence the monstrous): teratomas have been reported to contain hair, teeth, bone and very rarely more complex organs such as eyeball, torso, and hand. Usually, however, a teratoma will contain no organs but rather one or more tissues normally found in organs such as the brain, thyroid, liver, and lung.

Teratomas belong to a class of tumors known as nonseminomatous germ cell tumor (NSGCT). All tumors of this class are the result of abnormal development of pluripotent cells: germ cells and embryonal cells. Teratomas of embryonal origin are congenital; teratomas of germ cell origin may or may not be congenital (this is not known). The kind of pluripotent cell appears to be unimportant, apart from constraining the location of the teratoma in the body.

Artie answers:

Ingrown hairs.

Artie answers:

Hi db,

Wow, I've seen about a dozen or so teratomas in my time and most usually include hair, bones, even eyes, and sometimes organ tissue like liver, kidney, or other "stuff". They're easy to treat, and often the treatment includes steroidal meds that can cause hair thinning. In fact, most of the treatments include agents that can thin hair. Also, because the teratoma is located on the ovary, like an ovarian cyst, your system could be giving off hormones that thin hair.

Yes, most of the current material does indicate the potential for hair loss or thinning but the good news is the teratoma can be removed and hopefully without removing the ovary, and with a laparoscope so the scar will be minimal.

Further good news, your internist could consider testosterone therapy for hair growth but fair warning, you could get a very hairy snooge and butt. It can also cause facial hair so be conservative at first.