Central Nervous System

The brain is the center of thought, memory, emotion, speech, sensation and motor function. The spinal cord and special nerves in the head called cranial nerves carry and receive messages between the brain and the rest of the body.

There are two types of brain tumors:
- Primary — a tumor that starts in the brain. Primary brain tumors can be benign (noncancerous) or malignant.
- Metastatic — a tumor caused by cancer elsewhere in the body that spreads to the brain. Metastatic brain tumors are always cancerous.
Primary tumors in the brain or spinal cord rarely spread to distant organs.
Brain tumors cause damage because as they grow they can interfere with surrounding cells that serve vital roles in our everyday life.

Signs of Brain Tumors

No blood test or other screening exam can detect brain tumors, but there are often some outward signs. While tumors in different parts of the central nervous system disrupt different functions, some symptoms include:

Headaches.
Nausea/vomiting.
Seizures.
Weakness or numbness on one side of the body.
Changes in vision, hearing or sensation.
Difficulty with speech.
Lack of coordination.
A change in mood or personality.
- Memory loss

Diagnosing Brain Tumors

If you suffer from any of the initial signs of a brain tumor, your doctor will likely conduct some or all of the following tests:

A physical exam to determine your overall health.
A neurologic exam to evaluate brain and spinal cord function.
Imaging studies, such as CT, MRI or PET scans, to look for signs of a brain tumor.
If studies or scans indicate you might have a brain tumor, some tissue may be taken from the tumor to make an exact diagnosis. This test is called a biopsy.
A spinal tap may also be performed to look for tumor cells. During this test, a needle is placed in the lower back to obtain a sample of cerebrospinal fluid. This fluid is then examined to see if tumor cells are present.

Radiation Therapy Options for Brain Tumors

People with brain tumors should discuss treatment options with several cancer specialists, including a radiation oncologist. A radiation oncologist is a doctor who will help you understand the types of radiation therapy available to treat your tumor. Conventional radiation therapy treatment options for brain tumors include:

External beam radiation therapy
Brachytherapy or internal radiation therapy

Understanding Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy, sometimes called radiotherapy, is the careful use of radiation to safely and effectively treat many different kinds of tumors.

Doctors called radiation oncologists use radiation therapy to try to kill tumors, to control tumor growth or to relieve symptoms.
Radiation therapy works within tumor cells by damaging their ability to multiply. When these cells die, the body naturally eliminates them.
Healthy cells near the tumor may be affected by radiation, but they are able to repair themselves in a way tumor cells cannot

External Beam Radiation Therapy

External beam radiation therapy involves a series of daily outpatient treatments to accurately deliver radiation to the breast.

Painless radiation treatments are delivered in a series of daily sessions. Each treatment will last less than 30 minutes, Monday through Friday, for five to seven weeks
The usual course of radiation treats only the breast, although treatment of the lymph nodes around the collarbone or the underarm area is sometimes needed
3-dimensional conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) combines multiple radiation treatment fields to deliver very precise doses of radiation to the breast and spare surrounding normal tissue
Intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) is a form of 3D-CRT that further modifies the radiation by varying the intensity of the radiation beams. It is currently being studied for treating breast cancer
Side effects might include skin irritation, like a mild to moderate sunburn, mild to moderate breast swelling and fatigue

Internal Radiation Therapy

Internal radiation therapy, or brachytherapy, works by placing radioactive sources in or just next to a tumor.

During brachytherapy, a tube or balloon called a catheter will be inserted into the brain. The radiation will then be carried to the tumor using this catheter
The radioactive source will then be left in place from several hours to several days to kill the tumor cells
In some cases, the radiation is permanently placed directly into the tumor or the area where the tumor was before surgery