Radiation therapy is one type of treatment for brain cancer and can be used as the primary treatment in conjunction with surgery or to relieve any symptoms that the tumor is causing by shrinking the tumor. Most people get radiation therapy for...
Brain cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in people younger than 35 in the United States, according to oncologychannel.com. Of the 17,000 Americans diagnosed each year, almost 13,000 die. To prevent these deaths, doctors use...
A brain tumor is an abnormal growth consisting of cells reproducing uncontrollably. A benign brain tumor is composed of harmless cells, and is contained within distinct boundaries. Most benign tumors can be removed surgically. Malignant tumors are...
A brain tumor is a mass of abnormal cells in the brain. According to MayoClinic.com, malignant brain tumors are the types of brain tumors that contain cancer cells. Such tumors are a leading cause of cancer-related deaths among people who are...
Treatment for brain cancer depends on the type, the location of the tumor, size and stage of development. Patients can be afflicted with one of two types of brain cancer; primary brain cancer or secondary brain cancer, which is a metastasis of a...
The brain contains billions of cells, working together to support cognitive function and processes required to sustain life. Cells within the brain can be broadly classified as neurons or glia. Neurons, the nerve cells of the brain, communicate...
Curcumin is a polyphenolic compound found in a spice plant called turmeric. Because it is an antioxidant, curcumin may be able to decrease inflammation throughout the body. Scientists believe that inflammation is a part of the sequence of...
The brain contains millions of nerve cells, communicating through a network of millions of connections to control thought, movement and body functioning. Brain cancer can develop within the neurons, or nerve cells, or the glia, the supporting...
Whole brain radiation is a common treatment for aggressive brain tumors and brain cancers. Whole brain radiation therapy exposes all, or almost all, of the brain to a relatively high dose of radiation in the hope of slowing or stopping brain tumor...
Brain tumors, including brain cancers, lead to an estimated 22,020 new tumor diagnoses and 13,140 deaths in the United States in 2010, reports the National Cancer Institute. Brain cancer can originate in two general groups of brain cells: the...
Radiation is a form of cancer treatment that utilizes high-energy x-rays to destroy cancer cells at the site of therapy application. Patients with brain cancer or brain metastasis may choose whole brain radiation therapy to help treat these forms...
The National Cancer Institute estimated that 22,020 brain tumor cases would occur in 2010 in the United States. Brain cancer falls into two categories: primary and secondary. With primary brain cancer, the malignant tumor starts in the brain....
According to the report released in 2000 from the American Cancer Society (ACS), brain cancer is the second most common cancer found in children right after leukemia. It affects boys more than girls, and is most common among Caucasian children...
Brain cancer can either originate in the brain or spread from the other parts of the body into the brain, according to the Mayo Clinic. It isn't clear what causes either one of these brain cancer types, but genetics, environmental factors and...
Though you'll likely be assigned a team of medical specialists to treat your tumor, the primary means of helping brain cancer patients is neurosurgery. The approach your doctors take depends on the size and spread of your tumor. Your neurosurgeon...
Radiotherapy, more often referred to as radiation therapy, is one method of treating brain cancer. It is administered following the surgical resection of highly malignant tumors, to treat inoperable tumors or, in some cases, in combination with...
Patients with primary cancers of the brain or metastases from other cancers to the brain may receive radiation therapy. Radiation affects both the cancer cells and the normal brain cells; the types and magnitude of damage depends on the amount of...
Brain cancer and spinal cord tumors are typically grouped together into a group known as central nervous system, or CNS, tumors. There are many different kinds of brain tumors, and treatment depends on the kind of brain cancer, the tumor's...
Brain tumors may be treated through surgery, drugs or by irradiation. When a patient receives brain radiation for cancer treatment, this irradiation may either be externally applied or, according to the Merck Manuals Online Medical Library,...
For a successful recovery, it is essential to know the origin of cancer in the brain. As some brain cells go haywire, they transform into a tumor feeding on the blood and nutrients around them. As they run out of control, they wreak havoc on the...
The effects of radiation treatment on the brain can appear during the radiation, shortly after it, or even years later. Most of the radiation side-effects do not last long and typically disappear around the time that the radiation is over....
Cancers of the brain and nervous system are rare but very serious as they have a poor prognosis. The majority of brain cancer cases cannot be explained by any specific underlying medical or genetic conditions, environmental factors or behaviors. A...
Chemo, or chemotherapy, involves the use of drugs to destroy cancer cells or stop them from multiplying, while radiation therapy is the use of high-powered radiation to destroy cancer cells. Cancer cells are more susceptible to both chemotherapy...
Chemotherapy is usually used in conjunction with surgery and/or radiation to treat brain cancer. However, chemotherapy may be used by itself if the tumor is advanced, or has returned after other types of treatment. Some types of tumors respond...
Technically, radiation encompasses a broad range of phenomena, many of which are not harmful to living organisms. Radio waves, microwaves and visible light are all forms of radiation but have no biological consequences of exposure. Some forms of...
Late side effects of radiation therapy are rare but they do occur and can begin as early as six months after the last treatment, according to the National Cancer Institute. The type of late side effects depends on what part of the body was...
Brain cancer is a difficult and serious cancer to deal with, as the tumor can interfere with normal function in the brain. Brain cancer can originate in the brain, or it can be a metastasis of another cancer in the body. Both types of brain cancer...
According to the National Cancer Institute (NCI), brain tumors are the most common solid tumor in children. Brain tumors in children can be benign (not cancer) or malignant (cancer is present). The most common malignant brain tumors in children...
Some types of brain cancers, known as primary tumors, arise when a particular type of brain cell undergoes transformation and grows and multiplies in abnormal ways, forming a tumor. Other, more common types of brain tumors, known as metastatic...
Brain tumors are created by abnormal and uncontrolled cell division. Learn about the symptoms and treatments for brain cancer in this video.