“Do brain tumors always need to be surgically removed?”
My friend is 22 years old, and after experiencing chronic migraines, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. He and his doctors opted to remove it rather than using any other form of treatments. Do brain tumors always need to be surgically removed?
6 Answers
It depends on what type of tumour it is and what it is doing. If it is causing the symptoms, then probably yes. If it is small and has benign features (ones that suggest it is not a type of cancer) then it can be watched, though many go on to surgery later.
Surgery will give a diagnosis. Sometimes we can treat with radiation, radiosurgery or chemotherapy, depending on the pathology.
Almost always yes. For some benign tumors, if they are small can be followed with serial MR or CT scanning.
Some brain tumors can be “watched” through expect an observation however in all cases, a neurosurgeon would be the best person to assist you with determining the best medical route of treatment
No. Only tumors that are growing or causing neurologic deficits need to be treated. Some small tumors of certain cell types can be treated with radiation or chemotherapy. Others have to be removed surgically. Tumors do not cause migraines. Tumors can cause headaches by dural irritation or by increasing intracranial pressure, but they do not cause migraines. The reason the surgeon chose to remove the tumor had nothing to do with any migraines he had.
No, the decision to proceed with surgery depends on many factors. Some are just observed.
