When a patient is diagnosed with a brain tumor, treatments include removing or shrinking the tumor. Some brain tumors can be surgically removed. Others require aggressive treatment to make them go away. Despite a doctor's best efforts, however, a brain tumor can return. Symptoms of a brain tumor recurrence are similar to those of the initial tumor.
Types of Brain Tumors
Primary brain tumors are those that occur first in the brain. A secondary brain tumor occurs when cancer elsewhere in the body has spread to the brain, thus causing a tumor. Malignant tumors are cancerous. Benign tumors are not cancerous, but they can still cause problems if they are fast growing and impair brain function.
Brain Edema
Brain edema is a swelling in the brain, specifically around the tumor, that can occur as a result of the tumor or the treatment to shrink or destroy the tumor. This swelling often causes the patient to suffer headaches and seizures and can cause focal neurological deficits.
Headaches
Headaches are considered a common symptom of a brain tumor, yet Medifocus Health says that only about 20 percent of patients actually suffer from what is known as the "classic" brain tumor headache---a severe headache accompanied by nausea and vomiting that tends to be worse in the morning. The other 80 percent suffer from headaches that resemble tension headaches or migraines. Pain medications rarely help reduce pain caused by swelling in the brain. A headache after brain-tumor treatment is a possible indicator that the tumor has recurred.
Seizures
Depending on the location of a tumor, patients may experience seizures. Some seizures may be as small as a simple tremor that almost passes unnoticed. Sometimes the small seizure will result in the patient noticing an odd smell or having a strange feeling. Slighter larger seizures cause the person to seem out of touch and may cause him to make repetitive motions. Others may be a full-blown grand mal seizure, in which extremities flail excessively and the patient loses consciousness. If seizures occur after a regression or removal of a brain tumor, it is possible that the tumor has recurred.
Focal Neurological Deficits
A focal neurological deficit occurs when a patient becomes unable to perform basic daily functional skills. He may experience memory loss and an inability to speak normally. Sensory functions such as taste, smell and vision suddenly are affected. Motor skills are impaired, causing problems with balance, brushing teeth, showering, dressing and walking. Some people experience paralysis or weakness. If these occurred with a primary brain tumor, the patient would go through rehabilitation therapy. Loss of gains in these therapies would indicate a possible recurrence of the tumor.
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