| Description | | | | Loss of coordination |
| Brain cancer is a tumor or tumors that form on the | | | | Dizziness |
| brain itself. Most brain tumors have spread to the | | | | Change in personality |
| brain from other affected parts of the body (such as | | | | Loss of mental abilities, including memory |
| the breast or the lung) via the blood-stream. Only a | | | | Double vision, or loss of vision |
| small percentage of brain cancer cases originate in | | | | Seizures |
| the brain. | | | | Conventional Medical Treatment |
| In its early stages, brain cancer often produces no | | | | If you suspect you have a brain tumor, see a |
| symptoms, or it displays symptoms that are | | | | physician immediately. A CAT scan or MRI of the |
| mistaken for everyday headaches. As a result, the | | | | head can usually confirm the presence of a tumor |
| condition is often quite advanced before it is | | | | and pinpoint its location. If a tumor is found, the |
| detected. Brain cancer is a very serious condition that | | | | physician may take a CAT scan of the chest and |
| can cause extensive neurological damage or death. | | | | abdomen to make sure the cancer has not affected |
| The exact cause of brain cancer is unknown, but | | | | other areas of the body. If the tumor is localized and |
| heredity is suspected to play a role in its | | | | is situated in an area where removal is possible (on |
| development. | | | | the outer surface of the brain, for example), surgery |
| Signs and Symptoms | | | | may be performed. However, some |
| Brain cancer is usually asymptomatic until the tumor | | | | tumors-particularly those located deep within the |
| reaches a certain size. At that point, symptoms | | | | brain tissue-cannot be operated on. In these cases, |
| include: | | | | radiation and chemotherapy will be used to destroy |
| Persistent headaches | | | | cancerous cells. (See "Conventional Medical |
| Vomiting | | | | Treatment" in the "Bladder Cancer" entry for more |
| General weakness, or localized weakness in the arms | | | | information on radiation and chemotherapy. |
| or legs | | | | |