Brain Tumor Symptoms and Treatments

Brain tumor is a well known ailment. Everyone must have heard of this at some point in their life. Brain tumor refers to a situation where there is an accumulation of abnormal cells in the brain which form a mass of tissue.


There are two types of brain tumor which are either malignant or benign tumors. Benign brain tumors should not cause any worries as they are non-cancerous. Malignant tumors however are cancerous and when not diagnosed in good time may be fatal. This article will place emphasis on malignant tumors.

Symptoms of Brain Tumor

The symptoms of brain tumor may vary depending on the location of the tumor and the type of tumor. The most common signs include the following:

• Headaches that start suddenly and fail to disappear with normal headache treatments.


• A patient may slowly start losing memory making it difficult to remember even the simplest tasks like daily routine.


• There may be vision problems where a patient may see blur images, double visions or complete loss of vision.


• Often times one may start having changes in behavior and gradual change of personality.


• One may notice difficulty in walking.


• There may be change in speech such as slower speech. The ears may also be affected making hearing difficult.


• Concentration change is also noted whereby it becomes very poor.


• Seizures can occur in a patient with brain tumor.

While the above may be signs of a possible brain tumor, one should not assume the worst without proper diagnosis.

Treatment of Brain Tumor

The treatment of brain tumor depends on the following factors:

• Type of tumor.


• The location of the tumor.


• The size of the tumor.


• The general health of the patient.

There are three treatment plans which are:

Surgery: This is the most common treatment plan. An opening is usually done on the skull and the neurosurgeon tries to remove as much of the tumor as possible.

Radiation:  This treatment is used in cases where surgery has either failed or is not an option. It includes use of high powered rays to kill cancer cells and prevent new ones.  It is usually administered over a period of time.

Chemotherapy: This involves the use of very strong drugs either orally or by injection to cure cancer cells. It is usually given in cycles whereby after each cycle the patient goes into a recovery period before embarking on a fresh cycle.

What is a Difference Between the Benign and the Malignant Brain Tumors?

The benign tumors are non cancerous. The malignant primary tumors are the cancers that generally originate in brain, and grow faster than the benign tumors, as well as aggressively invade all surrounding tissue. Even though brain cancer hardly spreads to any other organs, it will spread to many other parts of brain as well as central nervous system.

The benign brain tumors have defined the borders and aren’t deeply rooted in the brain tissue. It makes them simple to remove surgically, assuming that they are in the area of brain that will be safely operated. But even when they are removed, they still can come back, though benign tumors are not possible to recur than the malignant ones.