The medical experts, researchers and medical students worldwide are busy finding new and curable ways to diagnose Brain Tumor. Most of the people are in a pre-occupied state of mind that Brain Tumor is life-threatening, which is not true in all the cases.
If we check the facts, approximately 6,88,096 Americans as of today lives with this troublesome disease. And annually, approximately 14,080 people die from Brain Tumor.
In the meanwhile, before we proceed to discuss further, ‘What is Brain Tumor?’ and ‘What are the symptoms of Brain Tumor?’ — let us understand what does the word ‘Tumor’ literally mean.
What is the Meaning of the Word ‘Tumor’?
The word ‘Tumor’ literally means, “a swelling of a part of the body, generally without inflammation, caused due to an abnormal growth of tissue whether Benign (not cancerous) or malignant (cancerous).”
In other words, Tumor is referred to a kind of swelling. And many a times there is nothing to worry about. Therefore, it should be made clear that ‘Tumor’ does not necessarily mean Cancer.
It is to be noted that the another name of ‘Tumor’ is ‘Neoplasm.’
What is Brain Tumor?
When the cells or the tissues in the brain becomes the victim of uncontrolled swelling; or, when the brain cells and the tissues grow abnormally impeding the normal functions of the brain; it is then said to be a case of Brain Tumor.
Types of Brain Tumor
Although, there are more than 120 types of Brain Tumors but here we will discuss two major types under which all different types of Brain Tumors are categorized.
Primary Brain Tumor
In a case of Primary Brain Tumor, the Tumor proliferates within the cells or the tissues of the brain. It may spread to the other different parts of the brain, but it is very rare that it gets spread to the other organs of the body.
Secondary Brain Tumor
It is the case where the Brain Tumor is the cause of Cancer that develops in some other part of the body and the abnormal growth of the cells or the tissue spreads to the brain.
When the Cancer originates in some other part of the body and proliferates within the body, then the medical jargon given to this process of Cancer proliferation is ‘Metastasis.’
Other than this, Brain Tumors are further divided into two different types i.e., Cancerous and Non-Cancerous.
Benign Brain Tumor
Benign Brain Tumors does not carry any Cancer elements. Moreover, it develops and spreads within the cells and the tissues in the brain and does not proliferate outside the brain area.
Malignant Brain Tumor
Malignant Brain Tumors carry cancerous element. This type of Brain Tumor tends to spread in the areas outside the brain and thus it is considered to be life threatening.
It is a mis-conception that ‘Tumor’ is similar to cancer. There are various types of Tumors, where some tend to have the cancerous element and some do not have it.
Symptoms & Treatments of Brain Tumor
It is to be well understood that it’s the type of tumor and the location where the tumor has originated, which can make a difference in the symptoms. And accordingly goes the treatment.
Some of the common symptoms of Brain Tumor are:
- Severe Headache
- Vision Imbalance
- Difficulty in Hearing
- Difficulty in speaking
- Imbalanced Personality
- Drowsiness
- Seizures (Fits)
As far as the treatments are concerned, the Benign Brain Tumors is, however, not life threatening but can always cause problems and so it should be treated as early as possible. In a major case it can undergo a small surgical procedure.
But when it comes to the treatment of Malignant Brain Tumor, the treatment, other than surgery, can involve grave procedures like Chemotherapy.
