Brain Cancer Treatment

Before the treatment is initiated, it is important to confirm the diagnosis and the grade of brain cancer. The treatment modalities used or recommended by the neurosurgeon would actually depend on the type and grade of brain cancer that you are suffering from.

It is important for you to tell the surgeon all the signs of brain cancer that you are experiencing. You must also report the frequency and intensity of specific signs of brain cancer that you experience or notice.

Brain Cancer: Grades

Tumours of the brain are assigned under a grade, depending on how normal or abnormal the cells appear microscopically. Grade measurements will help your doctor plan the best suitable treatment for you.

• Grade 1: The cells look nearly normal and grow slowly. Long-term survival is likely.
• Grade 2: In this, the cell looks slightly abnormal and grow slowly. Although, the tumour may spread to nearby tissue and can recur later.
• Grade 3: The malignant tissue has cells that look different from normal cells and these cells are actively growing and have a distinctly abnormal appearance.
• Grade 4: In this, the cell looks most abnormal and grows and spreads quickly.

Brain Cancer: Diagnosis

Brain cancer diagnosis may start with asking questions about patient’s medical history. The results of this interaction will determine the tests that are required to be conducted. The frequently used tests for brain cancer diagnosis include:

• CT scan: It is a series of 3-dimensional (3D) picture of the inside of the brain taken from different angles using X-rays. It is not painful but sometimes a contrast medium is given before the scan to provide a better detail of the image. This contrast medium can be in the form of a dye injected into the patient’s vein or as a pill to swallow.
• MRI: Nowadays, MRI is a more preferred way to diagnose brain cancers because it creates more detailed pictures than a CT scan. MRI uses magnetic fields to produce detailed images of the body.
• Biopsy: It is a less-preferred way of brain cancer diagnosis because it is invasive. A tissue sample is obtained by surgery or through the insertion of a needle into the tumor site in the brain.
• Other tests: Some other physical tests such as white blood cell count, electrolytes, or examination of cerebrospinal fluid to detect abnormal cells may be conducted to confirm brain cancer diagnosis.

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