Brain Cancer : In Depth - Deciding on T...
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Researchers are finding new treatments for brain tumors. People with brain tumors now have more hope for living longer than ever before.
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Different types of brain tumor treatments have different goals. Here is a list of treatments and their goals.
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The members of your health care team will work with you during the course of your treatment. They help guide you through your treatment choices, address your questions and concerns, and give you support. Following are some of the people who make up your health care team, and some of the words you may hear:
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Surgery is usually the first step in treating a brain tumor. For this treatment, you see a doctor who specializes in surgery on the brain or nerves, called a neurosurgeon. To remove a brain tumor, a neurosurgeon will cut a hole in your skull. It is like making a small window in the skull. This surgery is called a craniotomy.
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The risks of surgery for a brain tumor can be serious. The surgeon will review the risks with you before surgery. You may need a blood transfusion if bleeding occurs during or after surgery. In rare cases, you may need a second surgery to remove blood from your brain. These are other risks of brain surgery. You should talk about them with your doctor or nurse.
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What your surgeon does during your craniotomy depends on your problem. But no matter what, every measure is taken to avoid damage to normal tissue.
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Certain problems keep the brain from working right. Access to the brain is needed to correct these problems. A craniotomy provides this access. The problems discussed below are the most common reasons for performing a craniotomy.
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After a craniotomy, medications are often prescribed to treat side effects and help you feel better. If you had surgery for a brain tumor, you may also have chemotherapy or radiation.
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Radiation therapy uses high-energy radiation to kill cancer cells. Radiation therapy controls about one-half of all medulloblastomas, which grow in the lower part of the brain. It controls almost all germinomas, which grow in the sex cells. Radiation does not cure most brain tumors. Most brain tumors eventually come back.
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Radiation implants may be used to slow or help control tumor growth. This form of treatment is known as brachytherapy (also called interstitial radiation). With this process, the radiation attacks the tumor from within the body. The implants are placed during a surgery that is followed by a hospital stay.
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Even though doctors try to be precise when giving radiation therapy, some normal cells are almost always exposed to the effects of radiation. This causes side effects.
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Chemotherapy uses anticancer drugs to kill cancer cells. The drugs are made to attack and kill cells that divide rapidly. Cancer cells divide rapidly, as do some normal cells. Chemotherapy can affect those rapidly dividing normal cells in the body. Normal cells may be affected based on these factors.
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Side effects of chemotherapy depend on the type and amount of drugs you take and the length of your treatment. Because chemotherapy drugs kill rapidly dividing cells, the drugs can damage healthy cells that divide quickly, such as blood cells or cells of the intestinal tract, as well. This can result in low white blood cell numbers, which may increase your risk of infection.
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Brain tumors often cause symptoms. Also, your treatment is likely to produce some side effects. To help you feel better, your doctor may prescribe medications. Ask your doctor or pharmacist about possible interaction with other medications.
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Survival rates show the percentage of people with a certain type and stage of cancer who survive it for a certain period of time after they are diagnosed. A 5-year survival rate is the percentage of people who are alive 5 years after they are diagnosed. These are the people it includes.
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