Can you imagine your son telling you out of the blue that he has a brain tumor? It sure doesn’t get much worse than that moment. My 25 year old son got us all together in late October 2005 and calmly told us the doctor had sent him for a CAT scan which showed a very large tumor at the base of his brain. He had symptoms for a number of years, but all his regular doctors had told him the headaches were just “allergy”.

Brain tumor symptoms of cancerous tumors usually come on very fast. However, my son’s tumor was benign and had probably been growing for a very long time. Therefore, he started having symptoms from the tumor 3 or 4 years before the diagnosis. Although his tumor was benign, it was very dangerous since it was growing around the brainstem. Had he not finally received the scan when he did, it could have been much worse. Be aware it is important to know that most frequent headaches are not brain tumor symptoms.

After a 3 hour surgery, the tumor was removed successfully. The symptoms subsided immediately, but the brain surgery left him very incapacitated for two months. He was disoriented both physically and mentally. He doesn’t remember much at all from those two months of recovery.

What was learned from the experience was how we all allowed the brain tumor symptoms to go on for so long before going to a specialist. Fortunately one day his vision became blurred and his M.D. sent him for a CAT scan. The results were obvious and an appointment was made with a specialist for the next day. Five days later was his operation. His brain tumor symptoms were misdiagnosed as allergies for 3 or 4 years. With ongoing symptoms, that is simply too long to let them go on without seeking further advice from a professional.

Here are a few of the most common brain tumor symptoms:

• Headaches – Almost half of all brain tumors will cause headaches.
• Seizures – About a third of all brain tumors will cause seizures. A seizure is a sudden and involuntary loss or change of muscle function, personality, consciousness or other sensations.
• Vomiting or nausea – About one quarter of all brain tumors will cause nausea and vomiting. Oftentimes this is accompanied with headaches.
• Hearing or vision problems – About one-quarter of those with a brain tumor will have problems with hearing or vision.
• Weakness or abnormal sensations in the head, hands, or legs – About 25% reported weakness or strange feelings in their arms or legs. 16% reported having abnormal feelings in their head and 9% had abnormal feelings in their hands.
• Many others reported problems with memory, focus and patience.

If you are having any of the above symptoms, or combination of them, for an extended about of time, please ask your regular doctor make an appointment with a specialist.