Symptoms of Brain Tumors
A brain tumor can cause a wide range of symptoms. Symptoms depend on the size and location of the tumor, and whether it is benign or malignant.
Symptoms may include: headaches, changes in personality or behavior, problems with speech and language processing, seizures, nausea and vomiting, weakness or numbness on one side of the body, loss of coordination or balance, visual disturbances such as double vision or eyes that point to one side. These symptoms are often present only when the patient becomes anxious about their illness.
Sometimes people have no symptoms at all until a scan reveals a tumor. In this case, it’s called an “incidental” finding—the kind of thing doctors find by accident while investigating another problem.
Symptoms can also be caused by the effects of brain tumors on nearby nerves and tissue. For example, blood vessels in or near a tumor may become weakened and leaky. As a result, bleeding into the brain may cause headaches or seizures. The pressure from these leaks can also lead to blindness (if they affect an area of the eye) or deafness (if they press on the inner ear).
causes of brain tumor:
discussed here are some of the most common causes which can lead to a brain tumor. Some of the main reasons behind this disease are discussed here.
Infections or inflammatory diseases:
High risk for brain tumor development has been observed in patients with infectious agents such as the human immunodeficiency virus, Epstein-Barr virus, and other herpes viruses. Fever during infection also shows a positive association with this disease.
Chronic inflammation is another associated factor that can increase the risk of getting a tumor here. This disease is mainly caused by the chronic swelling and irritation found in areas around nerves or fluid-filled cavities (called ventricles) deep within your brain. The ventricles help your body store and drain away cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).
Brain tumor surgery:
Treatment for brain tumors may vary depending on the type and location of the tumor and your overall health. The treatment options will be discussed with you in detail by your doctor before a decision is taken.
Surgery:
Surgery is considered to be one of the most common treatments for brain tumors, especially when the tumor has not spread too far away from its original location or if it’s small enough to remove completely. It can be done through open surgery, which involves opening up the skull after putting the patient under general anesthesia.
Types of brain tumors:
According to the WHO classification, there are different types of brain tumors. The different types include the following:-
Primary brain tumors:
These are also called primary malignant or cancerous brain tumors. They start in the brain and arise from its cells. This type of tumor is further classified into ependymoma, glioma, medulloblastoma, mixed gliomas, and primary cerebral lymphomas. Primary melanoma of the central nervous system (CNS) is a rare tumor that can affect any part of the CNS but occurs most often in the spinal cord and optic pathways.
Secondary brain tumors:
These begin elsewhere in the body and spread to other parts via blood vessels or through tissue next to the brain. Secondary brain tumors are classified into the following categories:-
Metastatic cancers:
This is where cancer cells have spread from one part of the body to another. The most common type of metastatic cancer that affects the brain is carcinoma which can be breast or lung based. Certain types of cancers, such as melanomas, lymphomas, and leukemias, can also metastasize to other parts of the body including the brain via blood vessels or by directly invading tissue next to your brain.
Brain Tumour Causes:
Even though many different factors contribute towards getting a tumor in your head, some specific causes have been identified for this disease too.
Some of these include the following reasons:
1. Genetics:
People with a family history of brain tumors are more likely to develop brain tumors themselves. In some cases, patients that have mutations in certain genes such as p53 or PTEN tumor suppressor genes are more prone to this disease.
2. Age:
The risk of getting a primary tumor increases with age and it is observed that children under the age of 10 years and adults over the age of 60 years have a higher probability of developing a tumor here.
3. Environment:
Exposure to radiation from sources like x-ray imaging, atomic weapons fallout, and some chemicals can also increase your risk of developing a malignant brain tumor here.
4. Head Injury:
One type of brain cancer known as gliomas can be caused due to direct injury to the brain. This usually happens when the patient has sustained injuries of higher severity on his/her head. Radiation therapy is another treatment method that also increases your risk for gliomas here.
5. Other Treatments:
Chemotherapy, anti-seizure medications, and immunosuppressive drugs are some treatments that increase your risk of getting a malignant brain tumor too.
Brain Tumour Symptoms:
1) Seizures:
Sudden attacks of shaking or abnormal body movements are called seizures and they happen when there is an unusual burst of electrical activity in areas deep within your brain. These seizures are usually associated with tumors in the brain.
2) Headaches:
Since a tumor is an abnormal growth, it can trigger pain and other symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and vision change too. This can include headaches and migraines causing regular discomfort here for several weeks at a time.
3) Dizziness:
An increase in pressure within your skull can also affect your eyesight so much so that you feel unsteady when walking or experience dizziness here.
4) Problems with Memory or Concentration:
Another symptom of having a tumor in your head is that you start to have issues concentrating on daily tasks such as reading etc., due to poor concentration levels. This could be because increased pressure building up inside the skull is causing memory, speech, and other issues.
Brain Tumour Diagnosis:
Since many symptoms of having a brain tumor are very similar to those found in other health conditions, it is important to be aware of the causes listed above. Doctors will ask their patients about any head injuries they may have sustained previously or if there was any radiation exposure to decide on getting an MRI scan done.
This will check for any problems inside your skull such as swelling around the brain tissues due to increased pressure levels. CT scans are also used during diagnostic procedures to get more detailed images of the tissues inside your brain. Once the tests are complete here, doctors can move on to planning their treatment options accordingly while keeping future complications into consideration.
Brain Tumour Treatment:
Since several different types of tumors can grow inside your head, treatment methods will be decided upon after identifying the type of cancerous growth that you have here. The most common treatments for this condition include surgery to remove as much of the tumor as possible followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy.
Sometimes, doctors may decide on prescribing targeted drugs to shrink the tumor before surgical removal is done too. Other drugs like steroids can also be used to reduce swelling around the brain tissues depending on the severity of pain felt by patients here.