Brain tumor or brain tumor is a cancer disease in the brain. It can be distinguished between benign and malignant forms of tumor. Brain tumor mainly affects the nerve cells and meninges. Children are more often affected by brain tumors than adults.
What is a brain tumor?
Tumors are tissue changes that are not contagious in humans. However, they can be hereditary. A distinction is made between benign and malignant tumors. Click to enlarge. Brain tumors or brain tumors can be divided into malignant or benign tumors. Tumors are formed inside the brain (from the nerve cells) or on the meninges. Furthermore, a brain tumor can form metastases, which then develop as daughter tumors in the brain or form tumors in other organs or body regions via the bloodstream. Benign brain tumors are considered to be:
- Meningiomas
- Neurinomas
- Craniopharyngeomas
- Tumors of the pituitary gland (pituitary adenomas).
- Low-grade astrocytomas
Malignant brain tumors include:
- Lymphomas
- Melanomas
- Anaplastic astrocytomas
- Medulloblastomas
- Oligodendrogliomas
- Ependymomas
Causes
The causes for the development of brain tumor or brain tumor have not yet been fully researched. As with other cancers, however, one assumes triggering carcinogenic substances. Above all, long-term contact with chemical substances, such as pesticides, is considered to be the main cause. Other causes that have been researched so far are hereditary predispositions. For example, genetic defects in Recklinghausen’s disease can lead to Hinrt tumors. Causes such as stress, cell phone use, brain contusions and other head injuries have not yet been proven to cause brain tumors.
Symptoms, complaints and signs
A brain tumor is often manifested by sudden headaches that increase in intensity over days or weeks. These brain tumor headaches occur mainly at night and early in the morning and improve during the day. Normal pain medications only marginally relieve the symptoms. Nausea and vomiting are also among the typical symptoms of a brain tumor. Due to the increase in pressure in the brain, nausea occurs especially in the morning hours and does not subside until later in the day. Depending on its location in the brain, a brain tumor can cause a number of other symptoms. If symptoms occur primarily in the left side of the body, the tumor may be located in the right side of the brain. Brain tumor symptoms on the right side indicate a tumor in the left side of the brain. Neurological deficits then occur on the affected side of the body, for example paralysis, numbness and an unusual itching of the skin. Swallowing disorders, speech disorders, hearing loss and dizziness are also among the possible symptoms. A brain tumor can also cause visual disturbances. Usually, a certain area in the visual field fails – the affected person sees only a black spot. These visual field failures are associated with double vision and veil vision, for example. Depending on the size and location of the tumor, there may also be hormonal disturbances, impaired memory, and personality changes.
Disease progression
Schematic diagram showing the location of a brain tumor in the brain. Click to enlarge. The course of a brain tumor can be complicated because even after successful surgery, the disease can recur. Thus, a brain tumor can recur, meaning to come back again. Follow-up examinations, as well as constant check-ups, are therefore inevitable. If a malignant brain tumor is not detected in time or not treated, the death of the affected person is almost 100% likely. As after a treated brain surgery, serious complications can occur, especially without therapy. These include above all the typical symptoms, such as reduced mental performance, epileptic seizures and visual disturbances. The long-term prognosis for brain tumors varies greatly and, above all, is individual. Benign tumors that do not grow slowly are usually easier to remove and do not recur. In this case, a favorable prognosis can be assumed. In the case of malignant tumors, which may have already metastasized, the prognosis is rather poor.Often there are further ulcers in the body, most of which are fatal. Nevertheless, there are also cases of spontaneous healing, which so far cannot be explained scientifically.
Complications
A brain tumor causes relatively serious symptoms and complications that can extremely limit and complicate the patient’s daily life and quality of life. In most cases, this involves severe headaches due to increased brain pressure. These headaches are accompanied by nausea and, in most cases, vomiting. The affected person also suffers from visual disturbances and hearing difficulties. The thinking and acting of the affected person is also negatively influenced by the brain tumor, so that speech disorders and coordination disorders occur. It is not uncommon for psychological complaints and personality disorders to occur. These have a negative effect on the patient’s social life. Furthermore, it is not uncommon for paralysis and other sensory disturbances to occur. As a rule, it cannot be predicted in which part of the body these disorders will occur. The treatment of the brain tumor takes place either surgically or with the help of radiation. However, the further course depends on whether the tumor has already spread to other areas and how much damage has already been caused by the tumor. There may be a reduction in life expectancy due to the brain tumor.
When should you see a doctor?
If symptoms such as headache, nausea and vomiting have been present for a long time and do not go away on their own, a doctor should be consulted. A brain tumor often also manifests itself through psychological changes that cannot be attributed to any specific cause. People who notice such signs in themselves or others should consult a doctor. Medical advice is required at the latest when memory lapses, speech or visual disturbances or paralysis occur. If neurological deficits occur repeatedly, the emergency physician must be called. The same applies to cerebral seizures and sudden, stabbing headaches. People who have had cancer in the past should talk to their primary care physician immediately if they experience any of the above symptoms. Likewise, people who have frequent contact with chemical substances or have a hereditary predisposition. Patients with Recklinghausen’s disease are particularly susceptible to brain tumors and should have unusual signs clarified quickly. In addition to the general practitioner, a neurologist or a specialist in tumor diseases may be consulted. If symptoms are severe, the nearest hospital should be visited immediately.
Treatment and therapy
If a brain tumor is suspected, a doctor should definitely be consulted quickly for further examination. The earlier a tumor or cancer is detected and treated, the better the chances of recovery. The therapy of brain tumors nowadays follows two basic directions. On the one hand, surgical intervention is attempted to remove the brain tumor and its growths. In this case, the treating physician must weigh up whether this is technically possible at all, since brain surgery is still one of the most complicated and risky surgical procedures. On the other hand, radiation therapy or chemotherapy can be used to shrink and kill metastases and tumors. Both procedures can also be used in combination, i.e. in a supportive manner. In the case of a malignant brain tumor, it is not always possible to remove all tumors completely, since vital areas may also be affected. Thus, the main goal here is rather to reduce the tumor mass in order to decrease the intracranial pressure.
Outlook and prognosis
Brain tumor is a serious increasing disease that requires urgent appropriate treatment. The outlook and prognosis for a full recovery is highly dependent on when the diagnosis is made. The earlier the brain tumor is detected, the better the chances of a quick and complete recovery. If the affected person seeks medical treatment at an early stage, the tumor can ideally be removed without any problems. If surgery is performed too late, then the smooth removal of such a tumor is no longer possible. In the worst case, metastases spread, so that there is an acute danger to life. Failure to seek medical and drug treatment leads to a significantly more difficult course of the disease.Independent recovery without treatment is not possible, so a brain tumor will be fatal. Early diagnosis is very important and significant in the case of a brain tumor, as it can positively influence the prospect of a full recovery. Immediately following and lasting treatment is equally important so that the chances of a full recovery increase. Without any treatment, the chances of recovery are very poor.
Aftercare
As with all tumorous diseases, the first step after treatment is close follow-up. The aim of this is to detect any new tumors or metastases at a very early stage. In the case of a brain tumor, checks are therefore carried out several times a year at intervals of a few months. If no abnormalities are found, the intervals between the next check-ups are increased. Whether there are any new growths is usually checked via MRI or CT. Because malignant brain tumors often have a high risk of recurrence despite initially successful treatment, it is important that those affected keep their follow-up appointments regularly. The prognosis for new tumors is more favorable the earlier they are detected. New brain tumors do not always cause symptoms immediately, which should alert the patient. Often, findings that require treatment are discovered more by chance during follow-up. However, if unusual pain is noticed outside of the follow-up checks, this is always a reason to see the treating physician promptly. He or she can decide whether the next follow-up appointment should be brought forward in order to rule out the possibility that new tumors have formed.
What you can do yourself
After diagnosis, it is first important to receive in-depth information about the disease and about treatment and support options. The Brain Tumor Information Service provides information on specialized clinics and experts for interdisciplinary treatments and second opinions. Patients should ask their caregivers for help. Preparing for medical appointments and writing down questions help patients in everyday hospital life. Health care proxies and a legal guardianship are safety-providing measures in advanced disease. People with brain tumors should use the time with few symptoms to clarify for themselves what they still want to experience. Now is also the time to clarify interpersonal relationships and arrangements for death. Psychotherapeutic or psychosocial support can be helpful. Self-help groups locally and on the Internet offer exchange, e.g.: selbsthilfegruppe-gehirntumor.de, the Cancer Information Service and the German Brain Tumor Aid. Self-help options also include exercise and sports, yoga and meditation. A good maxim for a person suffering from a brain tumor can be to balance the quantity and quality of life. Some people achieve a focus on their strengths and wholeness, on positive outlooks and goals in their remaining life. Life, even with severe illness, contains not only deep despair, but also highs after therapeutic successes. Above all, it contains many intermediate stages that may be lived.
