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Brain tumors

A brain tumor, the symptoms of which are absent at the beginning of the formation of neoplasm, is an extremely dangerous pathology that has several differences from cancers in other internal organs. A person can develop a tumor at any age.

Symptomatic picture

The signs of a brain tumor and the magnitude of their manifestation depend on its diameter, location, and nature (the tumor may be malignant or benign). Signs include:

  • severe pain in the head;
  • vomiting, regardless of food intake;
  • attacks of dizziness;
  • dysfunction of the central nervous system;
  • psychological impairments;
  • circulatory dysfunctions;
  • acute hypoxia;
  • soft tissue dystrophy;
  • passiveness;
  • lack of appetite;
  • cognitive impairment;
  • auditory and olfactory hallucinations.

Predisposing factors

The causes of oncological neoplasms remain unknown to medicine. Main risk factors are:

  • bad ecology;
  • chronic diseases;
  • heredity;
  • head injuries;
  • harmful production, contact with toxic chemicals;
  • poor-quality food;
  • the negative impact of stressful situations.

Diagnostic Methods

Symptoms of brain cancer do not appear in the early stages, which greatly complicates timely diagnosis. In most cases, in the early stages of brain cancer, the disease is diagnosed by chance when the patient is examined for another disease. Diagnostic measures:

  • examination by a neurologist;
  • psychological examination;
  • neuroophthalmological examination;
  • CT scan;
  • ultrasound imaging of the brain;
  • electroencephalography.

Therapeutic measures

The treatment of a brain tumor is complex and very lengthy. It is impossible to carry out surgical treatment of brain cancer in the late stages because the tumor may be too deep in the soft tissues, and any attempts to remove it carry a high risk of injury to surrounding healthy tissues and chemotherapy and medications give a positive result only in the early stages of this disease.

Treatment of a brain tumor by an operation is possible if the tumor does not affect the vital blood vessels, and it can be removed without the risk of serious complications. If there are metastases, or the cancer is located in a place where it is not possible to extract it, in such cases, radiation therapy and chemotherapy are used, the main purpose of these methods is to suppress the growth and reproduction of harmful cells, from which they begin to die rapidly.

If the nature of the tumor is malignant, a complex of therapeutic measures is used. As a rule, this includes radiation therapy, chemotherapy and other methods of irradiation of soft tissues. It is possible to completely or partially remove a brain tumor, it all depends on the stage and the risk of the development of metastases.

Such an operation is performed using a special gamma knife, which uses precisely focused beams aimed at the tumor. Under their influence, cancer cells inhibit their growth and are destroyed. Symptoms of brain cancer are treated symptomatically, medications are selected by the doctor, depending on the intensity and characteristics of the clinical picture.

If the tumor is in an easily accessible place, and the neoplasm itself is benign, it is possible to carry out a full surgical operation to remove it, although this method carries a risk of soft tissue injury and complications.