Brain Cancer Symptoms

The most common brain cancer symptoms include headache and weakness.

Brain cancer is the cancerous tumor in the brain. Not all tumors in the brain are cancerous.

Many tumors arise in the brain which may be just benign or non cancerous.

But sometimes when the cells divide and multiply abnormally unlike the normal brain cells they form tumors which turn malignant in due course of time.

The benign tumors also tend to affect the health though do not spread rapidly. They pose a threat to normal activities of the brain or the central nervous system. They do not metastasize like the malignant tumors.

The cancerous tumors also don’t spread as such but can invade the other areas of the brain and the spinal cord. So, before knowing the brain cancer symptoms, let us first know about the types of brain tumors.

Types of Brain Tumors

The brain tumors are of two types the primary and the secondary brain tumors. Majority of the brain tumors are secondary. The exact cause behind the formation of primary tumors is not known.

But some factors are said to be associated with their formation like the environmental, heredity, some viruses are also said to play an important role in their development.

The Secondary (metastatic) brain tumors are tumors that result from brain cancer that starts elsewhere in the body and then spreads (metastasizes) to the brain. Cancers of the lung and breast are most likely to spread to the brain.

The secondary brain cancer cells are much similar to the cancer cells elsewhere in the body. These constitute almost 80% of the brain tumors which are caused.

Brain Cancer Symptoms or Signs of Brain Cancer

Brain cancer symptoms or signs of brain cancer depend on its size, location and rate of growth. A brain tumor either primary or secondary can cause a variety of signs and symptoms because it can directly press on or invade brain tissue.

This brain tumor may impair the regular movements and activities of the central nervous system by damaging or destroying the areas responsible for sight, movement, balance, speech, hearing, memory or behavior.

Pressure from a brain tumor can also cause surrounding brain tissue to swell (edema). Due to this swelling the brain cancer symptoms may also increase as well as further increasing pressure.

Brain cancer symptoms and signs of brain cancer include the following:

• Headaches may occur and also the pattern of headaches may change as well
• These Headaches may gradually become more frequent and more severe
• Also sometimes the headaches may be worse in the morning and ease during the day
• Unexplained nausea
• Vomiting.
• Abnormal eye movements or changes in vision
• Vision problems may include blurred vision, double vision or loss of peripheral vision
• Gradually the sensation or movement in an arm or a leg may be lost
• Weakness or loss of feeling or sensation in the arms or legs,
• Difficulty with balance, stumbling or lack of coordination in walking (ataxic gait),
• Speech difficulties or Changes in speech.
• Confusion in everyday matters
• Personality or behavior changes
• Seizures (convulsions) , especially in someone who doesn’t have a history of seizures – as with epilepsy, for example
• Audio or Hearing problems
• Hormonal (endocrine) disorders
• Loss of appetite or loss of desire to eat or not feeling hungry.
• Changes in mood and personality or memory.
• Changes in ability to think and learn.
• Drowsiness or giddiness

The brain cancer symptoms or signs of brain cancer may differ to patient to patient. The brain cancer treatment also is decided based on the size of the tumor, stage of the cancer which is in turn decided by the appearance of the brain cancer symptoms and the overall health of the patient.