6 lesser-known facts about brain tumors

It’s completely natural to be concerned about the possibility of you or a loved one developing a brain tumor. Fortunately, not all brain tumors are cancerous and some don’t even require treatment.

Dr. Aaron Plitt, a neurosurgeon at Aurora Health Care, offers facts you may not know about brain tumors: 

1. Brain tumors are fairly common. Up to 10% of the population will develop some type of brain tumor in their lifetime. 
2. Brain tumors don’t necessarily cause headaches. The brain itself doesn’t have sensation. So, people typically report brain tumor-related headaches only when the tumor is large and takes up too much space in the head or when the tumor is pressing against a structure near the brain that does have sensation, like the eyes. 
3. Brain tumors don’t need to be cancerous to need surgery. Even benign tumors can take up too much space in the brain. Surgery is offered for both benign and malignant tumors based on the location in the brain and the person’s symptoms. 
4. The most common primary tumor of the brain is a benign meningioma. They are one kind of benign tumor that may need surgery or treatment because of where they are located. They grow on one of the outer protective membranes of the brain that is next to the skull. 
5. Brain tumors are commonly discovered when people have an MRI or CT for other reasons. When the tumors do lead to symptoms, people may experience seizures, weakness on one side of the body, difficulty with speech and — occasionally — headaches. 
6. The most common treatments for brain tumors are surgery and a specific form of radiation called stereotactic radiosurgery. Many chemotherapy drugs don’t work on brain tumors because they don’t reach the brain. But health care providers are gaining more experience with treating some brain tumors with immunotherapy and therapy intended to target the person’s specific tumor. 

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