In line with its mission, the Editorial Board of MedTvoiLokony makes every effort to provide reliable medical content supported by the latest scientific knowledge. The additional flag “Checked Content” indicates that the article has been reviewed by or written directly by a physician. This two-step verification: a medical journalist and a doctor allows us to provide the highest quality content in line with current medical knowledge.
Our commitment in this area has been appreciated, among others, by by the Association of Journalists for Health, which awarded the Editorial Board of MedTvoiLokony with the honorary title of the Great Educator.
Mutilation, disability, constant treatment – this is especially associated with brain tumors. Unfortunately, rightly so. But medicine is making progress in this area as well. You just need to give her a chance and not run away from the diagnosis.
When a diagnosis of “cancer” is made, it is sometimes easier to deal with, but sometimes it is almost impossible. Anyone who thinks cancer is simply cancer will surely change their mind when they hear we are talking about brain tumors.
This type of cancer appears to be particularly dramatic and depressive, experts admit. In her study, Mariola Kosowicz, head of the Psycho-oncology Department of the Cancer Center, points to the stigmatization of cancer patients. There are others, and especially those with brain tumors, because, colloquially speaking, they have head diseases. In this way, healthy people make it clear that such a sick person cannot be treated as a person who is able to assess reality and make decisions. They start to help him out even in activities that do not require it. Instead of being grateful, the sick feel fear that he is so bad. And he feels cursed.
Meanwhile, the patient’s fear is also special, because the disease affects the brain, i.e. an organ that is very delicate and at the same time guides our lives. Surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy – all these procedures are needed, the patient tries to tame them, accept them, and prove that they can approach treatment rationally. But on the other hand, he is dismayed to think that these invasive therapies are intended to target the subtle ganglia of the brain. “A sick person is drawn into many medical procedures and often feels degraded and rejected,” explains Mariola Kosowicz. All life is subordinated to disease. Scientific research shows that many people, when they hear a diagnosis, immediately think of the excruciating suffering and pain that awaits them. This causes such intense anxiety that you have thoughts of suicide. Few people really try to do this, but they leave this possibility as a gate, an opportunity to escape when the control over the body, over the psyche, begins to elude them.
When the disease triggers so many bad emotions, it is worth paying attention to social campaigns to encourage patients. One of them is the action “Cancer. It heals itself ”, fighting against stereotypes about the disease and stubbornly reminding about prophylaxis. The organizers of the campaign are looking for people with positive energy, i.e. patients who, after recovery, support those who have just been diagnosed, heads of oncology departments, where, apart from treatment, patients are cared for, and finally young people who remind them about prophylaxis. And people who want to trust the Internet, but with proven information, can visit the website www.raktosieleczy.pl.
Kind of banal symptoms
A brain tumor may be asymptomatic for a long time. And then, years later, attack even within a few weeks. It depends on the type of tumor, its malignancy, and the rate at which it grows.
The first and most characteristic symptoms are headaches. Our brain is in a can of bones, so every foreign body that grows out makes it tighter and tighter. If no medical intervention has been done so far, the tumor swells the brain and the pain becomes really excruciating. But before that happens, most people think about fatigue, migraines, and even feel ashamed of their supposed hypochondria. Then there is nausea, especially when you wake up. They are also easy to explain at first. Just as a headache is supposed to be a signal of exhaustion, stomach sensations are definitely poisoning. Finally, there is a feeling of sleepiness, so strong that the patient is able to doze most of the day. If all these events accumulate, there is even a disturbance of consciousness. The extreme stage is coma. Here is the worst case scenario. Which is why I am allergic to these symptoms. Let us not be persuaded that we are hypochondriacs. The basic examination is magnetic resonance imaging. Thanks to it, you can not only locate the tumor, but also determine the degree of its malignancy. The varieties of resonances are getting better and better, thanks to which it is possible to determine extremely precisely where the tumor is located in relation to the areas of the brain. Increasing contrast, better image resolution – all this means that when it comes to surgery, it will be precisely carried out. The second diagnostic method, i.e. computed tomography (cheaper, more accessible, and therefore more often used) also gives better and better possibilities.
However, there is one condition: diagnostics must be carried out quickly. Here is an example, a story when it has been delayed for a long time to check “if it is cancer”: A patient finds that he has enlarged lymph nodes. It is linked to a recent infection. He suggests such a link to the doctor, who agrees with him and prescribes antibiotics. When the treatment is over, it turns out that the knots have decreased slightly, but after some time they grow alarmingly again. Then the doctor finally refers the patient to an oncologist. It was there that a biopsy was performed, a sample of the lymph nodes was taken (cancer cells were found in it), and computed tomography was performed, which allowed to determine where the tumor was located. It was disastrous that the symptoms were ignored and anti-inflammatory treatment was automatically started. This delayed both the diagnosis and treatment implementation. This case ended well. The tumor was excised, there were no complications, but of course the patient is under constant observation.
Operate more and more precisely
Since brain cancer affects the most subtle organ, the medical effort is focused on finding the least traumatic methods of surgery. After all, brain surgery is one of the most difficult surgical procedures. Risk and precision – these terms are most often used in their context. After all, the tumor can be removed, but as a result of complications and, for example, too much of the removed area, the patient will have problems with memory. In these operations there is no question of cutting backwards. Here you need absolute precision not to damage healthy areas of the brain.
Sometimes such a set is used: computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, intraoperative ultrasound, and all this is used for neuronavigation. On the screen, the surgeon can see the boundaries of the tumor (he can overlap the pictures taken before the operation and those taken during the operation), as well as the tools used. It is very helpful, especially in operations on benign tumors. Determining the tumor boundaries is then difficult, because healthy tissue does not differ from the diseased tissue. This is why every third operation on benign brain tumors is performed using neuronavigation.
In the Cancer Center in Bydgoszcz, PET, i.e. a super-specialized tomograph, is used. A special marker is used to distinguish a malignant tumor from a hematoma or postoperative changes. This precise image is then uploaded to the computer and it allows you to plan the scope of the operation more carefully than before.
Another idea of medicine is a computerized three-dimensional image of the brain, as well as showing the nerve pathways that run around the tumor. Since the nerve fiber bundles are colored in, the surgeon can act precisely. And every millimeter counts.
Among the innovative surgeries, which are guided by the idea of the least additional damage, I found a description of the procedure that was performed three years ago in a clinic in Szczecin by Dr. Leszek Sagan. Well, the young woman had a benign tumor in the left hemisphere of her brain. It was necessary to operate because she spoke with more and more difficulty, and seizures of epilepsy were getting worse. However, the risk was possible damage during surgery, which could, for example, cause her to stop talking at all. In this situation, the doctor decided to undergo surgery on the conscious patient. During the operation (she had the skull cover removed!), The woman had to count, read, and move her legs and arms. This helped doctors use special equipment to locate places responsible for speech and movement. And don’t damage them.
Occasionally, endoscopy (through the nostril) may be used to remove a pituitary tumor. Then you don’t have to disturb your brain at all.
One of the most famous ideas is the so-called Gamma Knife, a safe and precise method, used in Poland for two years. It is not a knife in the literal sense of the word, but strong beams of cobalt radiation. Exposure takes up to two hours. The only limitation is the tumor diameter – it cannot exceed 4 cm. Advantages: the skull is not opened, anesthesia is not administered, pain is avoided.
Medicine is painstaking but still successful in removing brain tumors. The methods are becoming more and more precise, and this gives you a chance to return to normal. There is one thing we can do: not to underestimate any protracted, even banal, symptoms. In the case of brain tumors, the race against time is especially important.
Three symptoms
Each of these symptoms, alone, is alarming, but not yet an alarm. However, when we observe them together, we should seek medical attention immediately.
1.headache, which gets worse in the following days, and we do not have any non-neurological diagnosed disease,
2.vomiting accompanying headaches,
3. sleepiness.
These are the most general and worrying symptoms. Others may be related to the location of the tumor, e.g. those in the vicinity of the cerebral cortex may cause epilepsy, near the motor cortex – paresis, cranial nerves – neurological symptoms, e.g. ptosis.
The skulls that develop in the back cause imbalance.
In oncology, head and neck cancers are dealt with by the same specialist. And that is why it is worth remembering other symptoms that may indicate the location of the tumor, e.g. in the mouth or in the neck area. The first and most important symptom is enlargement of the lymph nodes. Another, equally alarming, are:
– ulcers of the mouth and throat that do not heal for more than 2-3 weeks,
Hoarseness lasting more than 2-3 weeks
– a sore throat that lasts more than 2-3 weeks, a foreign body sensation in the throat or difficulty swallowing food.
Tekst: Iwona Konarska