Brain Tumour Information

About The Brain

The Main Parts of The Brain

Cerebrum

The Cerebrum is the largest area of the brain. It’s made up of two halves or hemispheres. The right cerebral hemisphere controls the left side of the body and the left cerebral hemisphere controls the right side of the body. Each cerebral hemisphere is divided into four areas, known as lobes: the frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital lobes. Each lobe controls a different range of activities Frontal Lobe – Controls attention, behavior, abstract thinking, problem solving, creative thought, emotion, intellect, initiative, judgment, coordinated movements, muscle movements, smell, physical reactions, and personality. Parietal Lobe -Controls tactile sensation, response to internal stimuli, sensory comprehension, some language, reading, and some visual functions. Temporal lobe – Controls auditory and visual memories, language, some hearing and speech, language, plus some behavior. Occipital Lobe – one of the four lobes of the cerebral hemisphere. It is located in the back of the head and controls vision.

Cerebellum

The Cerebellum is located at the lower back of the head and is connected to the brain stem. It is the second largest structure of the brain and is made up of two hemispheres. The cerebellum controls complex motor functions such as walking, balance, posture, and general motor coordination. These activities are carried out automatically (subconsciously) by this area of the brain and are not under a person’s control.

Brain Stem

The Brain Stem is the bottom part of the brain and connects the cerebral hemispheres to the spinal cord. This controls the basic functions essential to maintaining life, including blood pressure, breathing, heartbeat, eye movements and swallowing.

What Is A Brain Tumour?

A brain tumour is defined as an abnormal growth of cells within the brain or the central spinal canal. A brain tumour may be either malignant or benign.

Malignant Brain Tumour

When a brain tumour spreads within the brain, it is called malignant. Malignant brain tumours contain cancer cells and can press down on different areas of your brain and cause symptoms. A malignant tumour can be either primary or secondary.

Primary Brain Tumours are tumours that start in the brain and have not spread there from somewhere else in the body. They can be either malignant or benign.

Secondary Brain Tumours are tumours in the brain that has occurred because cancer cells from a cancer in another part of the body have spread to the brain i.e. they are always malignant. Your doctor will be able to tell you if your brain tumour is a primary or secondary tumour.

Benign Brain Tumour

Benign tumours do not contain cancer cells. These are tumours that remain in the part of the brain in which they started and don’t spread into and destroy other areas of the brain. They also do not spread to other parts of the body. If a benign tumour can be removed successfully it should not cause any further problems.

However, sometimes it can be difficult to remove the tumour because of its position within the brain, or because the surrounding brain tissue could be damaged by surgery. Some benign tumours will regrow slowly and, if this happens, treatment with radiotherapy or further surgery may be needed.

Symptoms Of A Brain Tumour

Brain Tumour symptoms vary from patient to patient, and most of these symptoms can also be found in people who do NOT have brain tumours. The best way to determine if you or someone you know has a brain tumour is to have a doctor perform a type of brain scan called an MRI or a scan called a CT scan.

Al Musella, from Virtual Trials the brain tumour information site, conducted a survey of about 1400 brain tumour patients to learn what symptoms they had that caused them to seek medical care. The survey is ongoing, and if you have been diagnosed with a brain tumour you can participate here.

Information reproduced here is with thanks to the Musella Foundation in the US and the Brain Tumour Charity in the UK.

Most Common Symptoms

The most common reported symptoms include:

Headaches

This was the most common symptom, with 46% of the patients reporting having headaches. They described the headaches in many different ways, with no one pattern being a sure sign of brain tumor. Many – perhaps most – people get headaches at some point in their life, so this is not a definite sign of brain tumors. You should mention it to your doctors if the headaches are: different from those you ever had before, are accompanied by nausea / vomiting, are made worse by bending over or straining when going to the bathroom.

Seizures

This was the second most common symptom reported, with 33% of the patients reporting a seizure before the diagnosis was made. Seizures can also be caused by other things, like epilepsy, high fevers, stroke, trauma, and other disorders. (3) This is a symptom that should never be ignored, whatever the cause. In a person who never had a seizure before, it usually indicates something serious and you must get a brain scan.

A seizure is a sudden, involuntary change in behavior, muscle control, consciousness, and/or sensation. Symptoms of a seizure can range from sudden, violent shaking and total loss of consciousness to muscle twitching or slight shaking of a limb. Staring into space, altered vision, and difficulty in speaking are some of the other behaviors that a person may exhibit while having a seizure. Approximately 10% of the U.S. population will experience a single seizure in their lifetime.

Nausea and Vomiting

As with headaches, these are non-specific – which means that most people who have nausea and vomiting do NOT have a brain tumor. Twenty-two percent of the people in our survey reported that they had nausea and /or vomiting as a symptom.

Nausea and / or vomiting is more likely to point towards a brain tumor if it is accompanied by the other symptoms mentioned here.

Vision or Hearing Problems

Twenty-five percent reported vision problems. This one is easy – if you notice any problem with your hearing or vision, it must be checked out. I commonly hear that the eye doctor is the first one to make the diagnosis – because when they look in your eyes, they can sometimes see signs of increased intracranial pressure. This must be investigated.

Problems With Weakness

Twenty-five percent reported weakness of the arms and/or legs. Sixteen percent reported strange feelings in the head, and 9% reported strange feelings in the hands. This may result in an altered gait, dropping objects, falling, or an asymmetric facial expression. These could also be symptoms of a stroke. Sudden onset of these symptoms is an emergency – you should go to the emergency room. If you notice a gradual change over time, you must report it to your doctor.

Behavioural and Cognitive Problems

Many reported behavioral and cognitive changes, such as: problems with recent memory, inability to concentrate or finding the right words, acting out – no patience or tolerance, and loss of inhibitions – saying or doing things that are not appropriate for the situation.

Symptoms by Tumour Position

In general, each area of the brain controls particular functions. A tumour in a particular part of the brain may prevent that area of the brain from working normally. Some symptoms related to tumour position in the brain are listed below, grouped under the different parts of the brain. They are intended only as a guide. Exact diagnosis can only be made by a doctor and confirmed by tests.

Cerebrum

Frontal Lobe tumours: Changes in personality and intellect, irritability, aggression, disinhibition, uncoordinated walking or weakness of one side of the body, loss of smell, occasional speech difficulties.

Parietal Lobe tumours: Difficulty speaking or understanding words. Problems with writing, reading or doing simple calculations. Difficulty in coordinating certain movements, and finding your way around. Numbness or weakness on one side of the body.

Occipital Lobe : Loss of vision on one side, double vision, visual hallucinations and disturbance in visual memory.

Temporal Lobe: Seizures, which may cause strange sensations: a feeling of fear or intense familiarity (déjà vu), strange smells or blackouts, speech difficulties and memory problems.

Cerebellum

Lack of coordination which affects walking and speech (dysarthria), unsteadiness, flickering involuntary movement of the eyes (nystagmus). Vomiting and neck stiffness.

Brain Stem

Unsteadiness and an uncoordinated walk. Facial weakness, a one-sided smile or drooping eyelid. Double vision. Vomiting or headache just after waking (this is rare). Difficulty speaking and swallowing. Symptoms may appear gradually.

Symptoms are different in children

The most common reported symptoms include:

Persistent vomiting/feelings of nausea (over a two week period)

Recurring headache (over a four week period, particularly on waking)

Abnormal eye movements

Fits or seizures

Behaviour change

Abnormal balance/walking/co-ordination

Blurred/double vision

Abnormal head position (such as a head tilt)

Delayed or arrested puberty (puberty that doesn‘t start or starts, but doesn’t progress as expected)

Please remember that all the above symptoms may be caused by conditions other than a brain tumour. If you have any of the symptoms described it is important that you go to see your GP.