Brain Cancer Symptoms

Because tumours in the brain can interfere with any bodily process, a person may experience many different types of symptoms of brain cancer. General symptoms may very well be caused by other disorders as well, not just brain cancer. This is why many cases of brain cancer are discovered as a result of complaints thought to be caused by other condition. Some of the more usual symptoms include:

• changes in ability to talk, hear or see (e.g. blurred vision)
• double vision
• headaches, particularly worse in the morning
• muscle jerking or twitching (e.g. seizures or convulsions)
• nausea which is not eased after vomiting
• numbness or tingling in arms or legs
• problems with balance or walking
• problems with thinking or memory

Brain cancer symptoms specific to the location of a tumour include:

• altered perception of touch or pressure, arm or leg weakness on one side of the body, or confusion with left and right sides of the body (frontal or parietal lobe of the cerebrum)
• changes in judgment, including loss of initiative, sluggishness, and muscle weakness or paralysis (frontal lobe of the cerebrum)
• changes in speech, hearing, memory, or emotional state, such as aggressiveness and problems understanding or retrieving words (frontal and temporal lobe of cerebrum)
• difficulty swallowing, facial weakness or numbness, or double vision (brain stem)
• inability to look upward (pineal tumour)
• loss of balance and difficulty with fine motor skills (cerebellum)
• partial or complete loss of vision (occipital lobe of the cerebrum)
• pressure or headache near the tumour

When to seek help
These lists are not intended to be exhaustive. In fact, because the brain interacts with every part of the body a wide variety of symptoms can be experienced. Because some symptoms of brain cancer can also be symptoms of other diseases, it's important to pay special attention to symptoms that are serious, regardless of the cause.However, if you experience any of the symptoms listed above, consult your doctor as soon as possible. Also, consult your doctor immediately if you experience:

• sudden headaches, without any warning, like a thunderclap
• seizures
• slurring of speech

If you suspect that you are experiencing brain cancer, doctors can help you confirm or exclude the possibility through diagnostic tests. But what exactly is involved in the diagnosis of brain cancer? What tests or procedures to doctors user? To learn more about how doctors diagnose brain cancer and metastatic brain cancer, read here for additional information.