Common Symptoms Associated With Brain Tumors

Since many brain tumor symptoms may seem innocuous, like headaches, patients and doctors fail to recognize them as potentially serious or evidence of a life-threatening growth until it's too late. As a result, a diagnosis isn't achieved until the tumor develops to a size or serious level that makes life-saving treatment unachievable.

If detected early, many brain tumors can be treated and possibly cured. New treatments, such as immunotherapy, chemotherapy, gene treatment therapy and radioactive treatments, are being used more often as they develop and become increasingly effective.

Consequently, physicians and patients are being advised to be cognizant of brain tumor symptoms and to do a thorough examination if potential symptoms surface. If a brain tumor is detected early enough, it can be cured. And though brain scans are costly - they are relatively painless and could save your life. To learn about symptoms connected to brain tumors and why you need to be aware, please read on.

Symptoms of Brain Tumors Cancer Medicine

If a brain tumor is still small and fairly young, it can often be treated. However, most symptoms depend on the size of the tumor and where it's found in the brain. For example, a benign tumor may take years to grow and even longer to cause an identifiable sign.

Among the basic harbingers are relentless or continual headaches, especially those that occur at night or are there immediately when an individual wakes up. Typically in young children, headaches happen simultaneously with vomiting or nausea.

Other frequent symptoms include personality alterations, sight or speech problems, behavioral issues, fatigue, numbness or paralysis or instability when walking that gets increasingly worse, seizures, and sensory disorders, like the loss of a sense or smelling something that's not there.

Too often, symptoms such as changes in behavior are ascribed to a mental disorder or to the aging process and are not addressed until it's too late to cure.

The Importance of Detecting Tumor Signs

Tumors that develop in the brain are the second most common cancer in young children, happening approximately as often as leukemia. In adults, they are also increasing. Approximately one-half of primary brain tumors are considered benign - meaning they grow slowly, do not infest nearby tissues and can generally be treated successfully. The remainder are malignant - that is, they are aggressive and encroaching but can often be treated, although they may remain incurable.

For More Information

For more information on brain tumors and their associated signs, contact the American Brain Tumor Association. Their phone number is (800) 886-2282, and they can supply information and referrals for patients and their families.