Brain Tumors

1. MP Mphuti
The Brain tumour
A brain tumour is a mass or growth of abnormal cells in your brain. There are many
different types of brain tumours. And some brain tumours are malignant while some are
cancerous. Brain tumours can commence in the brain which is the main part that makes
up the Central nervous system and it can also commence in other parts of your body and
disperse to your brain as secondary brain tumours.
How rapidly a brain tumour grows can vary greatly from the type of brain tumour it is and
from who the host of the brain tumour is. The growth rate as well as where the it is located
regulates how it will affect the function of your nervous system. The tumour rises from
brain tissue. The seriousness of a brain tumours is that they are dangerous because they
can exert pressure on the healthy parts of the brain or spread into those areas. They can
cause problems if they restrict the movement of fluid around the brain, which can lead to
an increase in pressure inside the skull.
Primary brain tumours originate in the brain itself or in tissue close to it, such as in the
brain covering membranes (meninges), Cranial nerves, pituitary gland or pineal gland.
They begin when normal cells develop change (mutations) in their DNA. The mutation
tells the cells to grow and divide with increased speed and to continue living when healthy
the cells would die.
The results is a mass of abnormal cells, which forms a tumour. The most common brain
tumour that assaults the crucial part of the brain is the meningioma brain tumour. A
meningioma is a tumour that arises from the meninges which is the membranes that
environ the brain and spinal cord. Although it is not technically a brain tumour, it is
included in this category because it may compress or squeeze the adjacent brain, nerves
and vessels. Meningioma is the most common type of tumour that forms in the head.
Most meningioma’s grow very slowly, often over many years without causing symptoms
or being able to be detected. But sometimes their effects on nearby brain tissue, nerves
or vessels may cause serious bodily harm such as disability. Meningioma’s occur more
frequently in women and are often discovered in their old ages, however they may also

2. occur at any age. Because most meningioma’s grow slowly, often without any noteworthy
signs and symptoms, they do not always require immediate treatment and may be
monitored over time.
Signs and symptoms of a meningioma typically begin gradually and may be very subtle
at first. Depending on where in the brain or rarely the spine the tumour is located, signs
and symptoms may include but are not limited to a change in vision which may cause
seeing double or blurriness, headaches that are worse in the morning, hearing loss or
ringing in the ears, memory loss, Loss of smell, seizures weakness in your arms and
language difficulty.
In adults, primary brain tumours are much less common than are to secondary brain
tumours, in which cancer begins elsewhere and spreads to the brain. Secondary brain
tumours most often occur in people who have a history of cancer. The treatment for a
brain tumour depends on the type, size and where it is located as well as your overall
health. It can be treated through surgery, radiation therapy and chemotherapy and others.