What is brain cancer: Like any other part of your body, your brain
can have a tumor, which happens when cells grow out of control and form a solid
mass. Because your brain has many types of cells, it can get many kinds of
tumors. Some are cancer, and others aren’t. Some grow quickly, others slowly.
But because your brain is your body’s control center, you have to take all of
them seriously.
How brain cancer is found: Doctors generally don’t do routine
checks for brain cancer like they do for some other kinds. You usually find out
about it when you go to your doctor with symptoms and she does tests. Your
treatment options and how well they might work tend to depend more on the
tumor’s type, size, and location, and your age than when you find it.
The tests for finding brain cancer: Your doctor probably will
start by giving you a neurological exam. This checks your nervous system --
things like your vision, balance, and reflexes -- to get an idea of where the
tumor might be. You also may need a scan to gives him a more detailed look at
the tumor. This might be an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), CT (computerized
tomography), or PET
Primary brain cancer: A much smaller number of people (about
24,000 each year) have cancer that starts in the brain or spinal cord. About 3
out of every 10 people with brain cancer have a glioma, a group of tumors that
start in your glial cells. Your brain has billions of these -- they help nerve
cells called neurons work the way they should. These tumors can grow quickly
and sometimes spread throughout your brain, which makes them harder to treat.
Secondary brain cancer: Most people who have brain cancer (about
100,000 each year) have this kind, which means cancer in some other part of
your body has spread to your brain. About half of all brain cancers start as
lung cancer. Other cancers that can spread to your brain include:
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Breast cancer
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Colon cancer
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Kidney cancer
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Leukemia
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Lymphoma
·
Melanoma (skin cancer)
The grades of brain cancer: Doctors label brain tumors with a
grade from 1 to 4. Low-grade tumors (grade 1) aren’t cancer. They grow slowly
and don’t usually spread. They can usually be cured if your doctor can take
them out with surgery. At the other end, high-grade tumors (grade 4) are
cancer. They grow fast, spread quickly, and typically can’t be cured. Grades 2
and 3 fall in between. Usually, grade 2 isn’t cancer and grade 3 is.
The symptoms: These depend on the kind of tumor you have and where
it is, but you may:
·
Act in ways you normally wouldn’t
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Feel sleepy throughout the day
·
Find it hard to express yourself, like you can’t
find the right words or feel confused
·
Get bad headaches often, especially in the
morning
·
Have problems seeing, like blurred or doubled
vision
·
Lose your balance easily or have problems
walking
·
Have seizures
Other Types of brain cancer: The different kinds of primary brain
tumors are all named after where in your brain they start. Besides gliomas,
they include adenomas (in your pituitary gland), chordomas (skull and spine),
medulloblastomas (cerebellum), and sarcomas (brain tissue), among others.
Brain tumors: Your skull is hard, your brain is soft, and there’s
really no room in your head for anything else. As a tumor grows, it presses on
your brain because it has nowhere to go. That can affect how you think, see,
act, and feel. So with brain tumors, whether it's cancer or not, what matters
is where it’s located, how quickly and easily it can grow or spread, and if
your doctor can take it out. He may use a PET (positron emission tomography)
scan. And he probably will recommend a biopsy, where he’ll take a sample of the
tumor to learn more about it.
Risk factors for brain cancer– age: You can get a brain tumor at
any age, but children and adults tend to get different types. They’re much more
common in adults over 50 than in younger people and children.
Risk factors for brain cancer - other health problems: You may be more likely to get a brain
tumor if you have a weak immune system, like if you have AIDS, or you’ve
had an organ transplant. The same is true if brain tumors run in your family or
you have one of these conditions caused by problem genes:
·
Li-Fraumeni syndrome
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Neurofibromatosis type 1 or 2
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Nevoid basal cell carcinoma syndrome
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Tuberous sclerosis
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Turcot syndrome type 1 or 2
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Von Hippel-Lindau disease
Risk factors for brain cancer – radiation: It’s usually not clear
what puts you at risk for a primary brain tumor -- one that starts in your
brain. But one known cause is radiation directed at your head to treat another
medical condition, like leukemia. In most of these cases, the benefit of
radiation outweighs the risk that it might cause cancer in the future.
The question: do cell phones cause brain cancer? This has been a hot topic in recent
years, but research hasn’t shown any clear link between cell phones and brain
tumors. There aren’t many long-term studies on cell phone use, though, and
scientists are still studying it. Until we know more, using earbuds or another
hands-free device can keep your phone away from your head and lower your
exposure.
The treatment for brain cancer – and the watchful waiting: Every
treatment has side effects, so if you have a tumor that’s growing slowly and
isn’t causing any problems, you may not need treatment at first. You’ll get
regular tests to keep an eye on the tumor and make sure it’s not getting bigger
or starting to cause new problems.
Other treatment for brain cancer – chemotherapy: This uses
powerful drugs to kill cancer cells, or at least slow them down. You can get it
in several ways, including pills or shots, or it might be put directly into
your bloodstream with a small needle and tube (called an intravenous, or IV,
drip). With some types of brain cancer, you get it in a wafer that’s placed in
your brain after surgery. The wafer slowly dissolves and directs the drugs
right at the tumor, killing any cancer cells left behind.
Other treatment for brain cancer – radiation therapy: Radiation
uses beams of high energy from X-rays or other sources to kill the tumor.
Sometimes, it’s used along with chemotherapy to help kill more cancer cells or
to protect your brain. Newer types of radiation, like proton therapy and
focused radiation, target the tumor very closely so they don’t hurt other parts
of your brain.
Other treatment for brain cancer – surgery: If your doctor can get
to the tumor, this is a likely first step. The best case is a tumor that’s
small enough to come out completely. But some parts of the brain are very
delicate, and removing the whole tumor may hurt them. Still, taking out even
part of a tumor may often help with your symptoms.
Other treatment for brain cancer – targeted therapy: Cancer cells
work differently than normal cells. Doctors can sometimes take advantage of
these differences with targeted therapy, which uses drugs to block cancer cells
from doing what they need to survive. It kills the cancer but leaves your
normal cells alone. For example, a targeted drug can keep a tumor from making
the blood vessels that help it grow.
19. After treatment: You’ll probably see your doctor regularly for
tests to make sure the cancer hasn’t come back. And because your brain affects
pretty much everything you do, you may need help with everyday tasks, even if
your treatment worked well:
·
Occupational therapy to get back to normal daily
and work activities
·
Physical therapy to regain your full movement
and strength
·
Speech therapy to help with swallowing and
speaking
As always, stay safe !
Bird
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