Brain Cancer Treatment in South Africa

Brain cancer can interfere with normal brain functions such as speech, movement, thoughts, feelings, memory, vision, and hearing. It is a disease of the brain in which abnormal, cancerous cells grow in the brain tissues. Typically, brain cancer is a developed form of a brain tumour. Primary brain cancer or a brain tumour develops from cells within the brain.

However, all brain tumours are not brain cancer. But one thing to note is that even benign tumour can cause serious problems by increasing intracranial pressure or obstruct vascular structures or cerebrospinal fluid flow in the brain.

Different types of cells in the brain such as gliomas, meningiomas, pituitary adenomas, vestibular schwannomas, and primitive neuroectodermal (medulloblastomas) can become cancerous. Gliomas have several subtypes, which include astrocytomas, oligodendrogliomas, ependymomas, and choroid plexus papillomas.

Types of Brain Cancers

There are two types of brain cancer, including:

• Primary brain cancers: Primary brain cancers result when cancer cells develop in the tissues of the brain itself. Primary brain cancer cells may travel short distances within the brain but generally would not travel outside of the brain itself.
• Secondary brain cancers: Secondary brain cancer is called metastatic brain cancer. It occurs when cancer develops elsewhere in the body and spreads to the brain. Primary cancer tissues can spread via direct extension, or through the lymphatic system or through the bloodstream.

Metastatic cancer in the brain is more common than primary brain cancer. They are usually named after the tissue or organ where cancer first develops. Metastatic lung or breast cancer in the brain is the most commonly found brain cancers.

Brain Cancer Causes

The exact brain cancer cause is still unknown. However, its occurrence has been linked to several risk factors, including the following:

• Exposure to radiation
• HIV infection
• Inherited abnormality
• Smoking
• Exposure to environmental toxins
• Exposure to chemical toxins, especially those used in rubber industry and oil refinery

Brain Cancer Symptoms

Some types of brain cancers such as meningeal and pituitary gland may produce few or no symptoms. Some of the brain cancer symptoms typically experienced by patients include:

• Difficulty walking, seizures, dizziness and vertigo
• Extreme fatigue and muscle weakness
• Severe headaches and blurry vision
• Sleepiness, nausea, and vomiting
• Reduction in mental alertness, capacity or memory
• Difficulty in speaking, impaired voice or inability to speak
• Personality changes and hallucination
• Weakness on one side of the body and coordination problems
• Reduced touch sensation

The brain cancer treatment plan is prepared by a medical specialist, who takes a note of the cancer type, location, tumour size, patient age, and general health status before coming up with an individualized treatment plan.

Typically, brain cancer treatment options include the following:

• Surgery: If a brain tumour is accessible, small, and easy to separate from surrounding brain tissue, then surgery is attempted to remove all of the tumour cells by cutting the tumour away from normal brain tissues.

The only limitation of surgery is that tumours cannot be separated surgically if they are located near the sensitive areas of your brain. This surgery involves opening the skull (craniotomy), which carries risks such as infection and bleeding. It can be life-threatening in some cases.

An endoscopy may be conducted through nasal route or via a hole conducted in the skull to see the inside of the brain and locate the tumour. The identified areas of the brain with cancer cells are then excised or removed with the help of surgical tools.

• Radiation therapy: It uses high-energy beams, such as X-ray or proton beams to kill cancer cells. Radiation therapy is a nonsurgical procedure that delivers a single high dose of precisely targeted radiation. It can be applied to your entire brain. Whole-brain radiation is often used to treat cancer that has spread to the brain from some other part of the body.
• Chemotherapy: It is a kind of drug treatment used to kill cancer cells. It can be taken orally in the form of pills or injected into a vein. Temozolomide (Temodar) is the drug most commonly used to treat brain cancer. Other drugs can be used depending on the type of cancer.
• Targeted drug therapy: Targeted drug treatment blocks specific abnormalities, leading to cancer cell death. This treatment has fewer side effects than other treatment modalities such as chemotherapy and radiation.

1. It takes time to recover after brain cancer surgery. The ability to care for others and yourself is compensated with and you may take some time to sink into the feeling of what just happened. You may not have the energy initially to think about anything or act to do something. But gradually the energy is regained with the help of doctors, therapists and family members and quality of life are slowly restored.
2. Immediately after the surgery, you will be placed in the recovery unit for at least a few hours. During your stay, a team of doctors and nurses will be available to monitor your health. Once your health stabilizes, you will be shifted to the neurosurgery nursing unit for a few days.
3. Surgery for brain cancer may affect the behavior, feelings, and thoughts of the patient. This is the reason why rehabilitative therapy after brain cancer surgery becomes important. The rehabilitation after brain cancer surgery may involve a team of experts, including physical therapists, speech and language experts, and occupational therapists.
4. The rehabilitation phase starts in the hospital itself. The rehabilitation team will prepare you for discharge and may continue to offer their services at your home if needed.
5. You are likely to experience discomfort for a few days after the surgery and discharge. However, make sure to call the doctor right away if you experience seizures or troubled breathing. Additionally, you should contact your doctor if you experience any of the following symptoms:

• Trouble urinating
• Hallucinations
• Nausea or vomiting
• Tiredness
• Problems related to vision or hearing ability
• Confusion or memory-related problems
• Worsened headaches
• Difficulty walking
• Weakness