|
|---|
BRAIN CANCER TREATMENT
|
|
|---|
BRAIN CANCER TREATMENT
Historically, treatment of brain tumors has used surgery, radiation treatment and/or chemotherapy. Each of these has improved dramatically over the past decades.
It is critical for the patient to get the correct treatment for brain cancer, the first time. This is because treatment of relapsed cancer isn't as successful as proper initial treatment when the diagnosis is first made. Nonetheless, newer techniques of pinpoint-accuracy radiation, microsurgery, chemotherapy and gene therapy offer more hope to the patient with brain cancer than ever before.
What are the Symptoms of Brain Cancer?
This depends upon where in the brain the cancer arises, and how big it becomes
before coming to medical attention. The brain has particular areas controlling thought,
sight, hearing, sensation, movement, coordination and mood. The upper brain area
tends to control the more advanced thought functions, while the middle controls mood
and movement and the rear (or "brain stem") stimulates breathing and heart rate.
The most common general symptoms of brain cancer are:
a) Seizures - any foreign body in the brain, including a tumor, can disturb it's normal electrical activity. The average brain runs on about 25 watts of electricity,
enough to power a small bulb. In chronic epilepsy, doctors look for an
abnormal
area of the brain, called a "focus", and see if it can be safely removed
to stop
the seizures. Likewise, if a person comes to the doctor with new onset
seizures,
the first thing to check for is an abnormal area, or tumor, in the brain.
b) Headaches - There is limited room inside the skull; the brain and it's linings are
insulated by a cushioning fluid that fills up the available space. If something
starts growing inside the skull, it quickly increases the pressure within
the skull.
This is called "increased intracranial pressure" or "ICP" for short. While
the brain
itself has no nerve endings, and sofeels no pain, the linings of the brain are rich
in sensory nerves and quickly detect an increase in pressure on them, causing
headache. Brain tumor headaches tend to be worse in the morning, upon awakening, and furthermore they get worse each day.
c) Nausea and Vomiting are also possible signs of increased pressure within
the brain, especially when accompanied by headache. The nausea is more common than actual vomiting.
d) Imbalance and stumbling can indicate a brain tumor, either because they are
a symptom of increased pressure within the skull or because the tumor presses
on the delicate areas controlling coordination, in the midbrain or cerebellum.
Some particular symptoms of brain cancer, depending on it's location:
e) Weakness in just one portion of the body, such as the right arm and leg or just
the left hand. Generalized weakness, or fatigue, is itself not suspicious
for brain
tumors. Specific areas of the brain "represent" and control the movement
and
sensation of each part of the body, and a tumor there will disrupt that
exact part.
This can localize a tumor to the "motor cortex" in the upper brain.
f) Sensation changes in a particular part of the body, for the above reason. Numbness or a burning sensation in a limb may localize a tumor to the "sensory
cortex" in the upper brain.
g) Visual problems - double vision is common and may occur from increased
pressure within the skull pressing on the nerves controlling the eyes
(especially number VI, called the abducens nerve which is the longest in the
skull).
Partial blindness can occur from pituitary tumors in the midbrain pressing
on
the optic nerves, or from tumors at the very back of the brain (occipital
lobe)
where the the "visual cortex", which controls sight, is located.
h)Judgment or personality changes occur especially with tumor located near
the front of the brain, in the "frontal cortex" which helps control
personality. The
changes typically get very obvious and don't improve with counseling.
i) Growth disturbance, breast enlargement, or changes in sex drive.
j) An insatiable desire to drink water, with frequent urination, is called
SIADH and
results from compressing of the midbrain structures controlling the body's
fluid
balance.
k) Hallucinations in vision or hearing arise from a tumor where these senses are
processed. This often involves seeing bright objects or hearing music.
What are the Types of Brain Tumors?
There are many types of brain tumors, since there are many types of cells in the brain
and each gives rise to specific tumors. The most common type of brain tumor in adults
isGlioma which is nearly 1/2 of all cases. Gliomas arise from the structural cells that hold
the brain together. Gliomas are further divided into particular types:
a) One-half of gliomas, or 1/4 of all brain tumors, are glioblastoma multiforme which is the most deadly and hard to treat brain cancer.
b)Astrocytomas make up 15% of brain tumors, and may either be low-grade,
which means indolent and curable, or higher grade, which are aggressive.
c) Other gliomas, at about 2% each, include ependymoma, which arises from
the cells which line inner cavities of the brain (called the ventricles),oligodendroglioma which comes from another structural cell, and medulloblastoma which is much more common in children. All these other glioma types
can be either indolent or aggressive, depending upon their grade,
and the
treatment are different for the various types.
The Cancer Group Institute material explains, in plain English, the specifics of the particular therapies and the latest effective treatment- everything you need to know to deal knowledgably with a brain cancer problem.
