What are the most prominent methods used to treat a benign brain tumor? How is it diagnosed? This is what we will learn about in this article, in addition to many tips to know.
Benign brain tumor treatment and diagnosis
Benign brain tumors grow slowly in the brain and tend to stay in one place and not spread. In this article, we will learn the most important details about benign brain tumor treatment methods:
Benign brain tumor treatment
Treatment depends on the type and size of the tumor, its location in the brain, the growth rate of the tumor, and the patient’s health condition. Here are the most important methods of treating a benign brain tumor:
1. Surgery
They are used to safely remove as much of a benign brain tumor as possible without damaging the brain tissue surrounding the tumor. If doctors can''t remove the entire tumor, you may need chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
It is important to know that these tumors do not return after their removal, but sometimes they grow again or become cancerous tumors.
2. Radiotherapy
Some benign brain tumors are located deep in the brain and are difficult to remove without causing damage to the surrounding tissues. In this case, a special type of radiotherapy called stereotactic radiosurgery is used, as it directs small beams of high-energy rays to kill the benign tumors. The treatment is in one session and the recovery is fast as the patient can go home on the same day.
3. Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is used to shrink a benign brain tumor or kill any cells that are left after surgery to remove the tumor, and is rarely used by doctors to treat benign tumors.
4. Laser thermal ablation
It is one of the modern techniques used to treat small, benign tumors that are difficult to reach through surgery, but the long-term effectiveness of this method has not been proven.
Symptomatic treatment of a benign brain tumor
Doctors resort to using medications to help treat and relieve some of the symptoms of a benign brain tumor, whether before or after surgery, including the following:
Anticonvulsants to prevent epileptic seizures.
Steroids are used to reduce swelling around the tumor.
Pain relievers for headaches.
Medicines to prevent vomiting.
Diagnosis of a benign brain tumor
After learning about the methods of treating a benign brain tumor and relieving its symptoms, here are the diagnostic methods used to detect a benign brain tumor:
1. Imaging techniques
Imaging methods help to identify brain tumors using CT or MRI diagnostic tools, where magnetic resonance spectroscopy is used to examine the chemical appearance of the tumor, and positron emission tomography helps to detect recurrent brain tumors.
2. Biopsy
A neurosurgeon performs the biopsy and a pathologist makes the final diagnosis to determine whether the tumor is malignant or benign.
4. Neurological examination
Includes examination of vision, hearing, balance, strength and reflexes To assess whether there are brain tumors in general, then the doctor then resorts to magnetic resonance imaging to determine the type and characteristics of the tumor.
Tips when treating a benign brain tumor
Here is a list of the most important tips to be followed when treating a benign brain tumor:
Commitment to all review appointments with your specialist doctor to assess the extent of improvement.
Take the medications prescribed by the doctor in the prescribed doses and times.
Exercising and doing physical activities to return to the basic life system that you used to follow, but it is worth paying attention to avoiding physical activities that require high effort.
Get enough sleep, eat a healthy diet, and spend time doing your favorite hobbies to reduce stress and stress.
