Brain tumor

For a lay person:

A brain tumour is an abnormal growth of cells in or around the brain, which may be cancerous or non-cancerous. Tumours can start in the brain or spread there from cancer elsewhere. Symptoms depend on the tumour's size and position and can include headaches, seizures and changes in thinking or movement.

For a trained medical person:

Primary tumours (gliomas, meningiomas, others) and metastases cause focal deficits, seizures and raised intracranial pressure. Diagnosis is by contrast MRI followed by biopsy or resection for histological and molecular classification. Management combines maximal safe surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy according to tumour type, with corticosteroids for oedema and antiepileptic drugs for seizures.

In Chinese medicine:

Liu and Tseng's textbook differentiates this condition into these patterns: Internal Obstruction of Phlegm-Damp; Qi Stagnation and Blood Stasis; Upward Disturbance of Liver Fire; Liver and Kidney Yin Deficiency; Spleen and Kidney Yang Deficiency. Treatment follows the pattern a patient presents with, not the Western diagnosis alone.

When to get help: This needs specialist neurosurgical and oncology care; Chinese medicine is adjunctive at most. Seek emergency care for a first seizure, sudden severe headache, confusion, or new weakness or speech loss, and tell your oncology team about any herbs, which can interact with chemotherapy.