Orlando Health Endocrine Cancers (Thyroid Cancer)
Football Hero Paralyzed By ALS Uses AI To Make Art Again
"Reaching Out to Catch the Sun's Rays," one of Steve Gleason's AI-generated creations, depicts a ... [+] swirling landscape of vibrant color.
Steve GleasonBefore being diagnosed with ALS in 2011, former pro football player Steve Gleason filled sketchbooks with his black-and-white graphite drawings. The progressive neurodegenerative disease has stolen the NFL alum's muscle function, so he can no longer wield a pencil. But he's experiencing a vibrant artistic revival through artificial intelligence.
The AI-generated art in his series "Resilient Spirit," on display now in New Orleans, explodes with vivid color and symbolism. In "No Tree Can Grow to Heaven, Unless its Roots Reach to Hell," named for Gleason's prompt for the piece, a tree's roots extend down into Earth's fiery orange and yellow magma, while a soft, dreamlike sky silhouettes its trunk and crown. In another image, "Reaching Out to Catch the Sun Rays," a figure stands beside the sun, looking upward from a swirling, richly saturated landscape that could be mistaken for something Vincent Van Gogh painted.
Gleason, 47, created digital images of his sketches using Adobe's Firefly suite of generative AI tools and inputting text prompts via an eye-level "keyboard" attached to his wheelchair that turns eye movements into words. Adobe gave Gleason early access to Firefly, including a feature that lets it "learn" from his prior art.
"I can see this technology helping so many," Gleason, a former New Orleans Saints safety, said in a statement. "This is a conduit for self-expression, providing opportunities for creation and contribution to countless individuals who previously felt these possibilities were beyond reach."
Gleason calls this image "No Tree Can Grow to Heaven, Unless its Roots Reach to Hell" after the ... [+] prompt he inputted to Adobe Firefly.
Steve GleasonVisitors to the exhibit of Gleason's work can thumb through a book of sketches he created prior to ... [+] being diagnosed with ALS.
Josh Brastead/Nieux SocietyGleason is well known and beloved in The Big Easy, where he made one of the most memorable plays in New Orleans Saints history. It led to a win in the first home game following Hurricane Katrina, a victory that uplifted a beleaguered city.
"Resilient Spirit" premiered at a private event Thursday attended by more than 80 guests at the headquarters of creative collective Nieux Society, where the works will remain on view on large monitors through the end of the month.
"The images are like poems," Lindsey Roussel, Nieux Society's co-founder and managing partner, said in an interview. "You can feel the emotion."
Steve Gleason's poetic prompt for this one: "A silhouetted boy watching the total eclipse. Feeling ... [+] so small, but dissolving into the complete. My insignificance is the illusion."
Steve GleasonNieux helped spearhead the exhibit as part of a broader push to inspire others with ALS to access their creativity. The project stems from a collaboration between Adobe and Team Gleason, a nonprofit founded by Gleason and his wife, Michel, to empower and support people living with the disease. The art initiative is expected to culminate with a global exhibition featuring ALS artists and supporters at the 2025 Super Bowl in New Orleans.
"I hope the 'Resilient Spirit' collection inspires others to use new tools to make their visions become reality," Gleason said. Roussel and Adam Wood of Adobe made minor formatting tweaks to Gleason's own works, but the athlete drove the creative process. "He was the lyricist and the composer and Adam and I were just the backup band," Roussel said.
Steve Gleason listens as David Darragh, managing director of the Team Gleason foundation, addresses ... [+] the crowd at the premiere of "Resilient Spirit."
Josh Brastead/Nieux SocietyGenerative AI continues to elicit a range of reactions—from enthusiasm about the tools' creative potential to concern artists' work will be stolen to train AI datasets or that algorithms will steal creatives' jobs altogether. But Gleason's AI-generated work exemplifies the promising ways technology can unlock creative expression for those living with disabilities.
"As concerned as photographers and artists are with our copyright being flouted and our work being used in AI training without our permission, seeing Steve's AI artwork and talking with him about how (meditation tradition) Dzogchen and Buddhism in general shape his use of AI tools was a heart-opening experience," New Orleans artist Thomas Laird wrote on LinkedIn after attending the event.
Steve Gleason says meditation and Buddhism shape his use of AI tools to create art.
Steve GleasonAmyotrophic lateral sclerosis causes motor neurons in the brain to degenerate, taking away the ability to move, talk and breathe, while generally leaving intellect and memory intact. Addressing the crowd at the art opening with a computerized voice similar to the one used by renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking, who also had ALS, Gleason said he's always seen himself as an artist, and that creativity has the power to embolden those who've received the devastating diagnosis.
"Until there is a cure for ALS, creativity
Gleason's memoir, A Life Impossible. Living with ALS: Finding Peace and Wisdom Within A Fragile Existence, releases on April 30, co-authored with New Orleans Times-Picayune sports columnist Jeff Duncan.
"I may not be able to do things the same way I did before ALS," Gleason said at last week's event, "but life, communication and creative expression are still possible."
Steve Gleason shares a bit about his artistic history using a specialized keyboard that turns his ... [+] eye movements into words.
Josh Brastead/Nieux SocietyWhat To Know About Lung Adenocarcinoma
A lung adenocarcinoma is a type of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) that begins in the glandular cells of the lungs. Depending on the stage, this can be a serious illness. However, treatment can improve a person's outcome.
According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), lung cancer is the second most common type of cancer in both males and females.
Among lung cancer types, lung adenocarcinoma is most frequently observed. Most cancers that begin in the breast, pancreas, and prostate also are adenocarcinomas.
Read on to learn more about lung adenocarcinoma, its symptoms, treatment, and outlook.
There are two predominant types of lung cancer:
The ACS reports that NSCLC is much more common, making up 80% to 85% of all lung cancers.
Lung adenocarcinoma is a type of NSCLC, with the two others being squamous cell lung carcinoma and large cell carcinoma. About 40% of all lung cancers are NSCLC, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI).
It begins in the glandular cells, which create and release fluids such as mucus and line the walls of your alveoli, the tiny air sacs in your lungs. When they turn cancerous, they begin to grow abnormally. They're often found on the outer parts of the lungs.
Adenocarcinoma of the lung can be further divided into different subtypes based on factors like:
Early on, a person with NSCLC may not experience symptoms. Once symptoms appear, they usually include a cough that does not go away. NSCLC can also cause chest pain when taking a deep breath, coughing, or laughing.
Other symptoms include:
The outlook for people with lung cancer is better when the cancer is found and treated early. If you develop any of the symptoms above, make an appointment with a doctor. They can perform tests to help find what's causing your symptoms.
NSCLC tends to form in the cells along the outer part of the lungs. In the precancerous stage, cells undergo genetic changes that cause the abnormal cells to grow faster.
Further genetic alterations may lead to changes that help the cancer cells grow and form a mass or tumor. Cells that make up a lung cancer tumor can break off and spread to other parts of the body.
The growth of lung adenocarcinoma happens in the following stages:
Depending on the stage of diagnosis, lung adenocarcinoma can be a serious illness. The more the cancer has spread, the more ongoing treatment you will need.
That said, a variety of factors can affect your outlook with adenocarcinoma of the lung. These include:
Having a family history of lung cancer raises your chance of developing it yourself. Certain genetic mutations can also predispose you to it.
Other risk factors include:
To diagnose lung adenocarcinoma of the lung, your doctor will first request your medical history. They'll ask about the symptoms you're having if you currently or have previously smoked and if you have a family history of lung cancer.
They'll then perform a physical examination. At this time, they'll get your vital signs and will listen to your lungs as you breathe.
The tests that may be ordered to help diagnose adenocarcinoma of the lung are:
A lung biopsy is the only way to definitively diagnose adenocarcinoma of the lung. If the tests above raise suspicions of lung cancer, your doctor will request that a biopsy be collected from the affected area and examined under a microscope to look for signs of cancer.
This tissue can also be tested for proteins or genetic changes associated with adenocarcinoma of the lung. If present, they can affect outlook and may also be targets for treatments like targeted therapy and immunotherapy.
An effective treatment for non-small cell adenocarcinoma depends on the cancer's stage. It may include:
Surgery to remove all or only part of the lung is often required if the cancer has not spread. Other treatments are more likely to be needed if the cancer has spread.
Is lung adenocarcinoma cancer curable?While it's not impossible to cure lung adenocarcinoma, this is often difficult because the condition is commonly diagnosed at an advanced stage.
Overall, the 5-year survival rate for NSCLC depends on whether the cancer has spread:
That said, research suggests that people with lung adenocarcinoma may have a slightly higher 5-year survival rate compared to those with other types of lung cancer (32.3% vs 25.4%).
People with two subtypes of adenocarcinoma of the lung, adenocarcinoma in situ and minimally invasive adenocarcinoma have a better outcome, especially when the cancer is treated early with surgery. If surgery completely removes the cancer, the 5-year survival rate approaches 100%.
That said, survival rates are calculated based on data from many people with NSCLC and do not account for individual factors or recent advances in diagnosis and treatment. Overall, it's best to discuss your individual outlook with your care team.
A lung adenocarcinoma is a form of NSCLC originating in the glandular cells of the lungs. Depending on its stage, this can be potentially life threatening. There are treatment options available that may lead to better outcomes.
Doctors and researchers also continue to develop newer, more effective treatments for adenocarcinoma of the lung. These can include new targeted therapy or immunotherapy drugs or new ways to use existing treatments.
Before being used on a larger scale, these new treatments need to be tested in clinical trials. If you're interested in taking part in a clinical trial, talk with your care team. They can help you to find one that you would be a good candidate for.
You can also consider looking at clinical trials supported by the NCI. The LUNGevity Foundation also provides a clinical trial matching service via the phone or an online search tool.
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The Battle I Never Thought I'd Fight
I've fought many battles in my life. I fought the lie that I wasn't meant to be as an adoptee. I fought against racism. I fought for impoverished and fatherless kids in urban communities to know that God the Father loves them. I fought severe depression as a young adult. I fought to reconnect with the love of my life who is now my wife. I fought for the custody and adoption of our first child. I fought against financial ruin. I fought against mainstream media propaganda to defeat Roe v. Wade. I fought for two years in federal court against the NAACP who sued me for exercising my right to free speech. I fought for my life, during COVID-19, as I was hospitalized for eight days with bilateral blood clots in my lungs.
I never imagined, though, that I would fight cancer.
I. Have. Cancer.
As I type these words, I'm still in disbelief.
I know God can heal on this side of heaven. I know He can pre-empt any surgery (which is next week) with a miracle that would confound the doctors but confirm His Divine ability. Sometimes, no matter the mustard seed of faith, He chooses differently than our heart's cry. I don't understand it. I certainly didn't when I lost my father at the height of COVID. Yet my entire life, I've seen how God works wondrously to turn tragedies into triumph.
I remember sitting in my car that day. I had just parked in our driveway. I got a text message that my biopsy results were available. (Sidenote to medical professionals: letting a patient see and having to decipher his/her own lab results before a physician can explain it is bad medicine.) I opened up the app, downloaded the results, and sat in shock as I went down the list of notes. Nearly every sample showed "adenocarcinoma." I knew what a carcinoma was. I knew that a Gleason score above 6 was definitely not good. And I knew that I needed Jesus right there in the painful silence of my car as I wept.
How would I tell my wife? My four kids? My extended family, friends, and colleagues?
One out of eight men is diagnosed with prostate cancer. It's more common than I ever knew. It is, however, uncommon for someone my age. This is something that tragically happens to someone else, I kept trying to make sense of it.
This is happening to me.
My wife was in a meeting as I entered our office. She immediately knew something was wrong. We stepped out, and I struggled to share words I never thought I would say. We cried and just held each other. We've been through so much together. And this was no different. As we prayed and cried some more, we gave this horrible news the remedy of the Good news: nothing is impossible for the God who created us (Philippians 4:13).
Satan loves to work through fear. I refuse to be controlled by it. If I give up, he wins. Since the diagnosis, I've continued to travel and speak on behalf of our organization, The Radiance Foundation. I've continued to fight culture-shaping issues on TV and in radio interviews. I've continued to speak boldly on social media. I have many, many more years of fight within me. My work through the Radiance Foundation will continue, just as passionately but differently, as we shift to creating more online content and traveling less. Most importantly, I'll continue to be the husband and father my family needs.
There are times when doubt tries to overwhelm me. That's when my spirit reminds me how many times I've experienced victory over and over again in my life. I marvel at the testimonies of people who were in far worse situations than I yet held strongly to their faith, no matter the outcome. I don't know why God answers prayers as He does, healing some fully on this side of heaven or waiting until the other side. My cancer is treatable, although without Divine intervention, it will be a lengthy recovery with some very unwanted end results. Of course, with any diagnosis like this, there is plenty of shoulda, woulda, coulda defeatist thinking. When my emotions try to mislead me, I need to redirect myself to what is true.
Truth is the best medicine.
Only hours after receiving the devastating news, my youngest daughter (Aliyah) led worship at her youth group. She's 15 but sings with the conviction of someone who has lived a lifetime. The first song was "I Trust in God" by Elevation Worship. It's funny how you can hear a song so many times yet miss the lyrics that were meant for you.
"Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine.
He's been my fourth man in the fire time after time...
I trust in God, my SaviorThe one who will never failHe will never fail…"
This battle is another figurative fire I have to walk through. I could believe for breakthrough or brace for breakdown. Quitting, though, has never been in my DNA. Since "the fourth man" is with me, I won't be alone. Thankfully, I also have an incredible wife who's amazing at speaking life into me every day! My kids, mom, siblings, in-laws, and friends pray over me and encourage me regularly.
I'm not sure what my future will look like exactly, but I'm hopeful. I grew up in a family of 15 where ten of us were adopted out of devastating circumstances. I know Hope. And I know deeply and personally how Christ rescues, redeems, and restores, both spiritually and physically.
To anyone who is going through a terrible situation, you have a Savior who cares about your struggle. It's okay to doubt. It's okay to cry. It's okay to scream. And it's okay to run to the One who loves you. Psalm 46:1 says: "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble."
And right now, I'm so grateful for that supernatural help.
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