Treatment of Brain Cancer,Brain Cancer

Treatment

Many people with brain cancer want to take an active part in making decisions about their medical care. They want to learn all they can about their disease and their treatment choices available to treat their brain cancer. However, shock and stress after a diagnosis of a brain tumor can make it hard to think of everything to ask the doctor. It often helps to make a list of questions before an appointment.
To help remember what the doctor says, patients may take notes or ask whether they may use a tape recorder. Some brain cancer patients also want to have a family member or friend with them when they talk to the doctor—to take part in the discussion, to take notes, or just to listen.
The doctor may refer the brain cancer patient to a specialist, or the patient may ask for a referral. Specialists who treat brain tumors include neurosurgeons, neurooncologists, medical oncologists, and radiation oncologists. The patient may be referred to other health care professionals who work together as a team. The medical team may include a nurse, dietitian, mental health counselor, social worker, physical therapist, occupational therapist, and speech therapist.

Methods of Treatment

People with brain tumors have several treatment options. Depending on the tumor type and stage of the brain cancer, patients may be treated with surgery, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy. Some patients receive a combination of treatments.
In addition, at any stage of disease, patients may have treatment to control pain and other symptoms of the brain cancer, to relieve the side effects of therapy, and to ease emotional problems. This kind of treatment is called symptom management, supportive care, or palliative care.
The doctor is the best person to describe the brain cancer treatment choices and discuss the expected results. A patient may want to talk to the doctor about taking part in a clinical trial, which is a research study of new treatment methods.
Surgery is the usual treatment for most brain tumors. Surgery to open the skull is called a craniotomy. It is performed under general anesthesia. Before surgery begins, the scalp is shaved. The surgeon then makes an incision in the scalp and uses a special type of saw to remove a piece of bone from the skull. After removing part or all of the tumor, the surgeon covers the opening in the skull with that cancer  piece of bone or with a piece of metal or fabric. The surgeon then closes the incision in the scalp.
Sometimes surgery is not possible. If the tumor is in the brain stem or certain other areas, the surgeon may not be able to remove the tumor without damaging normal brain tissue. Patients who cannot have surgery may receive radiation or other treatment.