Things are constantly changing and revolutionising in the health system. Thanks to technologies, there are now new ways to "heal". One such way is by indulging yourself in to the world of virtual reality and gaming, writes Dr Sathyanarayana LD, Consultant neurosurgeon at Narayana Health, Bengaluru for South First.

He notes that many people undergo surgery to remove brain tumors, which are one of the most complex and could be life-altering conditions for someone to face. Brain tumors could be benign or malignant, however, both affects the person's speech, motor function, memory, and their ability to perform day-to-day activities. This is the reason why, post-surgery, patients may be left with impairments, including physical, cognitive, and emotional. But thanks to technological advancement in the field of health, virtual reality (VR) and gaming have become "powerful tools for neurorehabilitation".

Dr Sathyanarayana notes that these means are not just for entertainment anymore. Since these means offer a more immersive and interactive experience, they have the potential to enhance the effectiveness of the treatment and also speed up the healing process, post-surgery.

How Does It Work? Why Does It Work?

The doctor notes that recovering from brain surgery is an intricate and lengthy journey. The brain does not return to full function immediately after the procedure; instead, it must gradually rebuild and rewire itself to regain what was lost.

This remarkable ability of the brain to reorganize and adapt, shaped by continuous learning and experience, is called neuroplasticity. It is through neuroplasticity that the brain creates new neural pathways to compensate for damaged areas and restore lost capabilities. In this complex process of rebuilding, gaming and virtual reality (VR) are emerging as powerful allies.

VR places patients in immersive, computer-generated environments that stimulate multiple senses at once—sight, sound, and even body awareness, known as proprioception. These rich sensory experiences actively engage different areas of the brain, sparking changes at the synaptic level, where neurons communicate with each other.

By simultaneously activating motor, sensory, and cognitive regions of the brain, VR encourages synaptic plasticity and broader neural reorganization. This multi-layered engagement fosters a more cohesive and efficient path to recovery, helping the brain rebuild its networks in a meaningful and impactful way.

Relearning Movement Through Virtual Play

Post-surgery, many patients face motor impairments like weakness or poor coordination. Virtual reality offers a safe and stimulating space to relearn movement through repetition and task-specific training—key elements for motor recovery.

For instance, VR games that simulate cricket—batting, catching, or goalkeeping—encourage repeated use of the shoulder, arm, and hand, helping restore motor skills. These games also adapt in difficulty and provide real-time feedback, keeping patients motivated while preventing fatigue.

Watching and participating in virtual activities also stimulates mirror neurons—cells involved in motor learning—which may strengthen communication between remaining healthy brain circuits and support recovery.

Training the Brain to Think Again

Beyond physical rehabilitation, brain surgery often impacts attention, memory, decision-making, and problem-solving. Gaming and VR can simulate real-life tasks in a structured, repeatable way, challenging cognitive functions in an enjoyable format.

Games involving memory recall, puzzles, and strategic decision-making push the brain to stay active. Over time, this improves working memory, executive function, and mental sharpness—key components of cognitive healing.

Emotional Healing in a Virtual World

Recovery is not just physical or cognitive—it’s deeply emotional too. Patients may feel anxious, depressed, or lose confidence. Immersive VR experiences can provide psychological comfort by offering calming spaces or achievement-oriented challenges.

These environments give patients a chance to see their progress, rebuild self-esteem, and stay hopeful—factors that are vital for long-term motivation and adherence to recovery routines.

Why VR and Gaming Work in Neurorehab

Repetition with engagement: Games make repetitive rehab feel enjoyable, which is essential for promoting neuroplasticity.

Customized progress: VR systems offer real-time biofeedback and adaptive difficulty, ensuring that challenges remain effective and engaging without overwhelming the patient.

Affordable and scalable: Innovations from institutions like IIIT Hyderabad’s Serious Games Lab are making VR solutions accessible and low-cost, even for rural and public healthcare settings.

Being the leading cause of death worldwide, cancer diagnoses can change the trajectory of a person’s life. New cancer stats reveal that an estimate of 2,041,910 new cancer cases will be diagnosed in the US, and about 600,000 have been estimated to die due to the disease. As you may know, cancer is a generic term for a lot of different diseases that affect our health. A malignant cancer diagnosis means that there is a rapid growth in abnormal cell growth which can affect various parts of your body.

According to the World Health Organization, cancer causes nearly 1 in 6 deaths globally and had accounted for 20 million deaths in 2020. The question remains, has the advancement in research and public education helped lower cancer cases or recognized any concerning patterns?

New information from Cancer Research UK, looking at 50 years of health data, shows both good and bad news about cancer. On the one hand, the number of deaths from cancer has gone down by more than one-fifth, which is a positive sign. However, the number of people being told they have cancer has actually gone up by 50%, showing a worrying increase in new cases.

More Young People Getting Cancer

One of the most concerning things we're seeing is how much more young people, under the age of 50, are getting cancer. Specifically, for those between 20 and 49 years old, cancer rates have shot up by 23% since the 1990s. Scientists are now working hard to understand why this is happening and what's causing this significant jump in cancer cases among younger individuals. Several factors are being explored as likely contributors to the rise in early-onset cancers:

Obesity, Poor Diet, and Inactivity

These lifestyle choices are strongly linked to the increase. Research into the rise of colon cancer among young people, for instance, revealed that more than a third of those studied were obese. It has been observed that individuals developing cancer at a younger age tend to have significantly higher rates of obesity compared to those diagnosed later in life.

Diet and the Microbiome

The food we eat greatly affects our gut health. It's suggested that outside elements like microplastics or chemicals could be altering this balance, potentially contributing to cancer development. Experts stress how important it is to start healthy eating and exercise habits early. There's also a warning not to forget that certain drinks can be just as risky as unhealthy processed and sugary foods.

Smoking's Declining Role

It's interesting to note that smoking is probably not the reason for the increase in cancer among young people. Experts have actually seen a drop in cancers linked to smoking across almost all age groups. This suggests that while smoking is a known cause of cancer, its decreasing popularity means it's not behind the current rise in cases among younger generations.

Despite more young people getting cancer, Cancer Research UK's report highlights that we are currently in a very positive time for cancer treatment. Thanks to advancements, one in two people diagnosed with cancer are now expected to live for at least 10 years. This is a huge improvement from the 1970s, when only one in four patients reached that milestone, showing great progress in saving lives.

If you have ever had a migraine then you would know that it is not just a headache, but it comes in phases. It starts with you being sensitive to all noise, smell, and even taste, feeling a bit dizzy, and losing out on your energy. Then there is a throbbing pain, this is when you know your migraine has reached its peak.

What Are The Stages Of Migraine?

There are four main stages of migraine, which starts from predrome, aura, headache, and then postdrome.

What Do These Stages Mean?

Predrome

This stage is like a warning stage where there may be certain physical and mental changes. These include feeling tired, excessive yawning, food cravings, changes in your mood. You may feel low or irritated. Your body feels dehydrated and you might feel thirsty, have stiffness around your neck and may pass more urine.

This can last for 24 hours.

Aura

This happens to a third of people with migraine, notes The Migraine Trust. There are various neurological symptoms that happens in this stage, which includes changes in sight. This means, one may see dark spots, coloured spots or sparkles, often described as stars and zigzag lines. There could also be numbness, feeling like pins and needles on your body, you may also feel weakness, dizziness, and have problems with speech and hearing.

The Migraine Trust notes that aura is the result of wave of nerve activity that spreads over the brain, it is also known as cortical spreading depression. When this electrical wave spreads, the nerves fire in an abnormal way and this range of reversible neurological symptoms develop.

This can last from five minutes to 60 minutes.

Headache

As per the American Migraine Foundation, the headache phrase of a migraine attack is characterized by pain on one or both sides of the head. This phase lasts from several hours to up to three days.

This phase can vary from person to person. While some can experience mild pain, for others it could be a debilitating pain.

The pain, in this phase, also shifts from one side of the person's head to other. In this phase, doing everyday activity like walking, turning on the lights, or any slight change, movement, sensory actions can aggravate the pain.

Postdrome

This phase is also called "migraine hangover". This happens during the end of headache phase. The American Migraine Foundation notes that not everyone experiences this phase, however, it occurs in most cases, in about 80% of people.

In this phase, the headache could be debilitating, but then it follows with fatigue, body aches, and trouble concentrating, dizziness and sensitivity to light. While in this phase the headache is ending, however, people could still be sensitive to smells, tastes and sensory actions.

When Canada first passed its assisted dying legislation, also known as the Bill C-14 in 2016, it soon became a landmark in healthcare and personal autonomy. It is officially known as Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) and was initially available only to those adults who were terminally ill. The eligibility criteria had strict parameters: the person had to be suffering from a "serious and incurable illness", be in an "advanced sate of irreversible decline", experience "intolerable suffering", and crucially their natural death had to be "reasonable foreseeable".

This legal threshold was also known as Track 1. This was modeled on end-of-life care and largely served people with terminal cancer or other severe illness who wanted control over their dying process. Track 1 is a relatively swift procedure, with some patients receiving MAID within a day of applying.

However, many Canadians live with severe, non-terminal conditions and they felt left out. These were people with degenerative diseases, chronic pain, or spinal injuries. They had and continued to suffer deeply, but were not imminently dying. They also began to request for MAID, however, were routinely denied.

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This led to a legal challenge by Jean Truchon, reports The New York Times. He is a man with spastic cerebral palsy whose suffering wasn’t deemed terminal. In 2019, a Quebec court ruled that the “reasonably foreseeable death” clause was unconstitutional. This case prompted the introduction of Bill C-7 in 2021, which created Track 2 — extending MAID eligibility to people with serious, incurable conditions causing enduring suffering, even if their deaths weren’t foreseeable.

Track 2 includes additional safeguards: a 90-day assessment period, evaluation by two independent clinicians, and consultation with specialists if necessary. Applicants must also be informed of other ways to alleviate their suffering and show they’ve seriously considered those options. While mental illness alone was technically included under Track 2, implementation has been delayed until 2027 due to concerns about inadequate mental health infrastructure.

Despite its tighter process and ethical complexities, Track 2 MAID has steadily gained use. In 2023, there were 622 deaths under Track 2 compared to 14,721 under Track 1. Still, Track 2 has ignited national debate, with critics claiming it opens the door to premature death among vulnerable populations — and supporters defending it as a compassionate choice for those trapped in non-terminal agony.

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Paula Ritchie And The Doctor Who Stepped Forward To Assess Track 2 Patients

A 52-year-old woman from Smith Falls, Ontario had a far from simple case, assessed by Dr Matt Wonnacott, who agreed to assess Track 2 patients. He believed that these patients too had the right to autonomy and must be able to guide care decision, including the right to choose death when suffering becomes unbearable, reports The New York Times.

Paula had a long history of chronic pain and mental health challenges: fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, migraines, depression, PTSD, borderline personality disorder, and more. But things got worse in early 2023 after a head injury. She began experiencing vertigo, migraines, uncontrollable muscle movements, and an overwhelming dizziness that made even basic tasks impossible.

Doctors failed to find a physical cause. Some attributed her symptoms to psychological distress, while others diagnosed post-concussion syndrome. Treatments ranged from Percocet and Ativan to acupuncture and reiki, but nothing worked. Paula’s life shrank to a single room, her body wracked with pain, her mind spinning. She tried to end her life — and failed.

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Frustrated by her inability to access help or relief, Paula began pursuing MAID. Her first request was denied. But she persisted, calling the regional MAID coordination center daily until she was finally reassessed by Wonnacott and a psychiatrist, Dr. Elspeth MacEwan.

During the assessment, Wonnacott asked if she would wait five years for a hypothetical cure. Paula said no — she could barely get through a day. She felt tortured. A veterinarian, she told a friend, would euthanize a dog in better shape.

Importantly, Wonnacott found her reasoning sound. She was not acting out of untreated mental illness or impulsivity. She had sought treatment. She had given it time. And she had thought carefully about her request. MacEwan agreed. Paula met the criteria under Track 2.