Types of Brain Cancer Treatment

There are several different types of brain cancer. It is important to know and understand that treating a brain tumor should be customized to you. While treatments are typically standardized, it is important for the treating doctor to consider your age, as well as any and all health complications that you may experience.

In addition to this, the medical professional must also consider the type of tumor that you suffer from, the location of the tumor, as well as the general size of the abnormal growth. In this health guide, you will learn a little about the different types of brain cancer treatment that you may choose from in order to treat the health complications that you suffer from.

Radiation Therapy

Radiation therapy is a common brain cancer treatment that many individuals with tumors elect to participate in after being urged by their doctor. Machines that emit rays that are filled with a high level of energy work to effectively destroy tumor based cells. This treatment is also effective in reducing the possibility that the cells will grow and continue to multiply in the body.

In most instances, radiation therapy will completely stop the growth and reproduction process of cancerous cells in the brain and other locations in the body. This is an appropriate treatment for those that are not capable of undergoing treatment. Many patients prefer this treatment as it is considered to be local. This means that it only targets cells that are cancerous and not healthy cells.

Chemotherapy

Many patients elect to engage in the brain cancer treatment of chemotherapy. This type of treatment incorporates the use of drugs in order to effectively destroy tumor cells. Many medical professionals will use a combination of several drugs, but there are many that will use only one type of medication when issuing chemotherapy.

Chemotherapy medications are typically taken by mouth, but there are some instances when a medical professional feels that it is most appropriate to issue drugs by an IV. The brain cancer treatment is typically given in what is referred to as a "cycle". This means that a person is issued the medication on an intensive level. Immediately thereafter, there is a time where no treatments are issued. This is the recovery stage.

Typically, the patients that undergo chemotherapy experience many different challenging and uncomfortable symptoms. Many individuals actually describe these symptoms as being unbearable. They include, but are not at all limited, to the following:

• It is common for many to experience nausea. In most cases, this is accompanied by vomiting.
• Sores may start to develop on, in, and around the mouth area in patients that are undergoing chemotherapy.
• Many discover that they simply have no appetite and no desire to indulge in meals while on the treatment.
• Unfortunately, many that engage in this type of brain cancer treatment discover that they lose their hair.