Symptoms of Brain Cancer

Not all tumors in the brain are brain cancer.

Brain cancer most often occurs because of metastatic cancer to the brain. This means that a cancer such as breast or lung cancer, travels within the blood to the brain where it begins to grow.

Brain cancer symptoms will get worse over time, because these cancerous tumors are growing larger. Because the brain is housed within the skull, there is a limited amount of space, so a growing mass will eventually result in some symptoms.

About 20% of patients will have headache at the time of diagnosis. About 60% of patients will eventually develop headache symptoms.

Other brain cancer signs and symptoms can be similar to symptoms seen in people with a stroke. Hemipares (weakness of one side of the body), aphasia (difficulty speaking or understanding spoken words), and visual field deficits can occur.

Primary brain cancer (non-metastatic) has been associated with other diseases such as Li-Fraumeni syndrome, Turcot’s syndrome, neurofibromatosis, and tuberous sclerosis.

The most common metastatic diseases to result in brain cancer symptoms originate in the lung and breast.

Symptoms of brain cancer often do not lead directly to the underlying diagnosis and many symptoms can be misleading. Please review all concerns and information found on this website with your health care provider.