Brain cancer is a life-threatening but rare type of cancer that can start in the brain or spread from other parts of the body, like the lungs and breasts, to the brain. There are also brain tumors that aren’t deadly that people can get. Any kind of brain tumor diagnosis can be frightening. Still, many safe, effective ways exist to treat the brain tumor starting symptoms, improve your quality of life, and maybe even eliminate the tumor. 

If you know the signs and symptoms of a brain tumor, you can get the care you need sooner. This can help you avoid permanent problems and keep your quality of life as high as possible. 

What are the 4 significant warning signs of a brain tumor?

The size, type, and location of growth can change how bad and where your symptoms are. For example, you can have signs that aren’t very noticeable or ones that are. Most of the time, brain tumors cause the following symptoms, which a doctor should check out:

Headache:

Brain tumors often cause headaches that get worse. This is one of the major early signs of brain tumor that helps in diagnosing cancer.

Brain growth can pressure nerves and blood vessels that aren’t strong enough to handle it. A brain tumor also stops fluid from flowing easily in the brain, which can cause headaches because of the extra pressure.

This may result in new migraines or a change in how your existing headaches feel, such as:

• You are throwing up a lot for no clear reason.
• You’re always in pain, but it’s not a migraine.
• When you first wake up in the morning, it hurts more.
• It comes with new signs in the nervous system.
• It hurts more when you walk, breathe, or exercise.
• Painkillers you can buy over the counter don’t help at all.

Even if your migraines are worse or more frequent than they once were, it does not indicate that you have a brain tumor. People get headaches for many reasons, like not eating or sleeping or being stressed.

Seizures:

Brain tumors can exert pressure on other regions of the brain. This can make it hard for nerve cells to send and receive electrical messages, which can cause a seizure.

Sometimes seizures are the first sign of brain growth, but they can happen anytime. About half of the people with brain tumors will have at least one seizure. Brain growth isn’t always the cause of seizures.

Vomiting and nausea:

In the early stages, you might feel sick and throw up because growth is causing an imbalance in your hormones or more pressure in your brain. When chemotherapy or other treatments treat a brain tumor that has turned fatal, vomiting and nausea could be side effects.

You can also feel sick and throw up for several reasons, such as food poisoning, the flu, or pregnancy. 

Confusion and memory loss:

A brain tumor can cause memory problems, especially if it grows in the temporal or frontal lobe. Growth in the frontal or parietal lobe can also make it hard to think and make decisions. For instance, you might find,

• It’s hard to focus, and you lose interest quickly.
• You get confused about easy things a lot.
• You are incapable of multitasking and have difficulty formulating plans.
• You have trouble remembering things quickly.

This can happen at any stage of brain growth. Cancer treatments like chemotherapy, radiation, or surgery can also be a side effect. Tiredness can make these problems even worse. 

Mild memory problems don’t always come from a brain tumor. Many other things can cause them. They can be caused by things like not getting vitamins, taking the wrong medications, or having a mental health problem. 

When is a headache considered concerning?

Almost everyone has had a headache at some point, but brain cancer isn’t usually the cause. But you should always see a doctor if headaches make it hard for you to do daily activities or if they come with other worrying signs, like changes in your nervous system.

You should also pay close attention to how your headaches change over time and see a doctor if they get worse,

• When you just lie down
• After you wake up in the morning
• Advanced over time

In case you are dealing with excruciating pain headaches that tend to get worse in above mentioned cases, visit a neurology hospital in Coimbatore, to get proper diagnosis.

When should you seek medical attention from doctors?

Brain tumors can produce a range of symptoms that vary from individual to individual. However, it is always advisable to consult a doctor if you experience any of the following,

• Seizures
• Numbness
• Weakness 
• Difficulty in talking
• Worsened headache

Other medical conditions can cause many of these symptoms, but it’s always important to rule out cancer. You know your body better than anyone else, so pay attention to any changes and tell your doctor about anything strange. Most of the time, these signs are caused by other things, but you shouldn’t ignore them. If something doesn’t feel right, let your doctor help you figure out what’s wrong.

Is screening for brain tumors useful?

Cancer checks are often used to find lung, breast, and other cancers in their early stages. But there is no standard way to screen brain cancers.

It is possible for cancer that starts somewhere else in the body to spread to the brain. So, imaging is used to look for brain tumors in people who have late stages of breast, lung, and other cancers. An MRI of the brain can help doctors determine if any secondary cancers have spread to the brain so they can help in brain cancer treatment.

Can brain tumors be prevented?

A person is more likely to get a brain tumor if they have a very rare genetic predisposition, but no other known factors make this more likely. So, there is usually no fool-proof way to prevent brain cancers.

But if you keep up with cancer screenings for other parts of your body, you can lower the risk of getting brain metastases, tumors that have spread to the brain. For instance, regular scans help find breast cancer early, when it is easier to treat.

In the same way, screening colonoscopies can find colon cancer early and may even help you avoid getting it. Other things you can do to stay healthy and lower your risk of getting certain cancers are to stop smoking, work out daily, and eat a well-balanced diet.

Important Takeaway:

Apart from noticing the signs related to brain cancer, it is also important to have regular screening for cancers as it is an effective way to identify different cancers and help treat them early. If you’re experiencing any signs or even looking to undergo screening for a brain tumor, reach out to the best neurologist in Coimbatore.