Know the Causes, Symptoms, and Treatments of Brain Cancer
When the abnormal and excessive growth of cancerous cells occurs in the brain of a human being, the condition is known as brain cancer. The conditions of brain cancer can develop in a person from the brain itself. This condition is known as primary brain cancer. Secondary brain cancers are more common where the growth of a cancer tissue occurs due to the spreading of cancerous cells from other organs through the bloodstream.
Causes of brain cancer
Brain cancer is caused mainly due to the abnormal growth of cancerous cells in the brain at excessive levels. These cells form a tumor in the brain which can also be considered as a cancer tissue. These tissues interfere a lot in the regular functioning of the brain. They also lead to the degeneration of the normal cells in the brain. The malignant cells which are mainly responsible for brain cancer are also termed as aggressive cells. They are given the so name because of their aggression to grow and spread rapidly.
Symptoms of brain cancer
There are many symptoms of brain cancer. A person may be confused while considering them as a sign of brain cancer because they may carry the sign of some other disease. Persistence occurrence of one or more symptoms given below can obviously imply towards brain cancer.
- Vertigo and dizziness
- Weakness in the muscles
- Severe headaches (mainly during the morning and evening)
- Seizures
- Blurry vision
- Prolonged nausea
- Changes in terms of alertness
- Increase in sleep
- Difficulty in sensing
- Speaking distortions
- Impaired voice
- Changes in personality
- Coordination and movement problems
- Fatigue
- Problems related to memory
- Overall weakness in the body
Cancers can generally form in any of the positions of the brain. Each position of the brain consists of a lobe. Every lobe is responsible to carry out different jobs. A person experiences the severity of the symptoms according to the lobes which are affected by the cancer tissue growth.
High fever is another symptom which a patient with brain cancer can experience. It generally happens due to the chemotherapy treatment which the patient goes through.
Treatments for brain cancer
The treatments of brain cancer generally comprise of three aspects. They are as follows:
- Surgery
- Radiation therapy
- Chemotherapy
Surgery
A surgery is generally done by a doctor for the complete removal of the tumor or the cancer tissue from the brain. The doctors go for a surgery in case of the operable cancers only. In the case of inoperable cancers, it is better not to conduct any surgery because it causes severe Bain damage and may cause death too. The process of this surgery is known as craniotomy as it involves the process of opening the skull.
In the case of an inoperable brain tumor, a person should go for a second opinion always before eliminating the fact of a surgery.
Radiation therapy
In this process, the cancer cells are destroyed by applying radiations of high energy. They are focused to destroy the ability of division and replication of the cancerous cells. Mainly, the high power gamma rays and X-rays are used to treat the patient with brain cancer. This is a neurosurgical method to treat a patient with brain cancer.
Chemotherapy
This method is largely incorporated in treating cancer patients. Chemicals are applied to the tumor cells for the destruction. A surgically implanted reservoir is the main source of treatment in this case.