HEALTH
Identifying The First Symptoms Of A Brain Tumour
In simple terms, a brain tumour is a growth within the brain and it shouldn’t be there. While research is ongoing to identify what causes brain tumours and how to prevent them, early diagnosis is essential to increase your likelihood of survival.
It is worth noting that approximately 2,000 people are diagnosed in Australia every year with a malignant brain tumour. That’s the more aggressive and dangerous type, such as brain cancer. Of these, approximately 1,500 die.
While early diagnosis and a visit to a good neurosurgeon is essential to increase your chances of survival. You should note that how fast a brain tumour grows can vary greatly. It depends on the type of tumour, where it is, and your metabolism.
There are a variety of signs that you may have a brain tumour. If you’re experiencing the following you’ll want to see a specialist as soon as possible. However, don’t panic, a brain tumour is only one answer, these symptoms can point to other issues.
- Headaches
If you start getting regular headaches and don’t usually suffer from these, or if your usual headache pattern changes, you may have a brain tumour: especially if they are a lot worse than usual.
- Vision Problems
Combine the headaches with vision issues and you’re increasing the likelihood of a brain tumour. The most common vision problems are double vision or blurred vision. You can also lose your peripheral vision.
- Balancing issues
If your brain isn’t functioning normally due to abnormal cells creating pressure it can result in difficulty balancing. This can be compounded by difficult hearing things you normally can.
- Difficulty with speech
Equally, pressure on your brain can distort the connections with other parts of your body, including the area that controls speech. This complication does depend on where the tumour is but if you suddenly notice you’re struggling to form the right words and sentences you may have a brain tumour.
- Fatigue & confusion
As your brain is under pressure and your body finds it more difficult to complete everyday tasks, it’s highly likely that you’ll start to feel tired a lot of the time. Confusion is also common as you may struggle to identify where you are, what you were doing, or deal with other everyday events.
- Behavioural changes
Your brain is the centre of who you are. If it is struggling or experiencing pressure that prevents it from working properly, you are likely to behave and react differently. These behavioural and personality changes may be more noticeable to others first. It’s important to get these checked out as soon as possible as there can be many causes.
- Seizures
These generally happen as the tumour grows and starts to cut off blood supply to parts of the brain. A seizure is frightening and a warning that your brain is struggling.
If you’re experiencing the above symptoms it is important to get help as soon as possible. It will help to understand what is wrong with you and you can go through the treatment options.
Kenneth is a proud native of sydney, born and raised there. However, he pursued his education abroad and studied in Australia. Kenneth has worked as a journalist for almost a decade, making valuable contributions to prominent publications such as Yahoo News and The Verge. Currently, he serves as a journalist for The Hear Up, where he focuses on covering climate and science news. You can reach Kenneth at [email protected].
