Brain Tumor – Causes, Symptoms and Treatment

What is Brain Tumor?

Abnormal growth of cells within the brain is called as Brain Tumor. Brain tumor can be cancerous or non-cancerous and is one of the deadliest ailments known to mankind. Primary Tumor is the one that stems from the brain cells in a human body. When cancerous cells from lung, breasts or other body parts reach the brain it is called as the Secondary Tumor. The majority of the brain tumor cases are secondary tumor where the cancerous cells use the blood streams to spread to brain.

Categories in Brain Tumor

There are several categories in brain tumor. Meningioma is one of them which stems from the cover of the human brain. This brain tumor can be removed and cured by surgery. Astrocytoma is the other category which is deadly in nature.


Causes of Brain Tumor

It is still unclear what causes brain tumor. The following are the major reasons found to cause brain tumor.

1. Excess ionizing radiation given to head.
2. Certain genetic reasons can also cause brain tumor.
3. Increased use of electronic devices like cell phones that radiate electromagnetic waves can also possibly cause brain tumor.


Symptoms of Brain Tumor

There are number of symptoms that are attributed to brain tumor. The common symptoms are

1. Raised intracranial pressure - pressure felt in the skull
2. Symptoms of chronic headache and nausea.
3. The affected person also gets fits and visual problems.
4. Weakness or numbness on one side.
5. Abnormal working of smelling cells.
6. Difficulty in doing tasks such as writing, speaking and drawing.


Diagnosis of Brain Tumor

1. MRI and CT scan are usually used to diagnose brain tumor.
2. Tests like EEG are sometimes prescribed by the doctors.


Treatments for Brain Tumor

Brain tumor ultimately leads to cancer. The major treatment done for brain tumor are

1. Radiation
2. Surgery and
3. Chemotherapy.

The type of treatment done depends on the location of the tumor, the nature of the affected cells and other health issues. Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy are used to treat malignant tumors.

With excellent advancement in medical science, it is now possible to perform surgery in complicated brain tumors which were not possible earlier.