Can Obesity Make It Harder for a Colonoscopy to Find Cancer?
Obesity doesn’t just cause serious disease; it also hinders medical procedures. (more…)
Top Five Ways to Whiten Your Yellow Teeth
If you suffer from yellow teeth, here are the 5 best ways to help whiten them, plus what you should never do — explained by a leading dentist.
Can Different Brain Tumor Symptoms Come and Go?
Since a brain tumor stays fixed in place, it stands to reason that once you get symptoms, they will be constant.
Or might they actually come and go? (more…)
How Long Can a Brain Tumor Cause ONLY Headaches?
How long can you have only headaches before you can say, “It can’t possibly be a brain tumor because so much time has gone by without any other symptoms”?
If an MRI Shows a Brain Tumor Are You Told Sooner?
Do the results of your MRI (brain tumor vs. normal) determine how soon you hear back from your doctor?
The Different Phantom Smells that a Brain Tumor Can Cause
Smelling something that isn’t there (phantosmia) can be caused by a brain tumor.
There are different kinds of odors that a person may smell as a result of a brain tumor.
When a person begins smelling something that doesn’t exist (and it may take a while for them to realize this), they usually assume it’s a problem with their nose.
And in fact, it could very well be a sinus related issue, such as a polyp in the nasal cavity.
However, when one smells something that doesn’t exist – an imaginary odor (phantosmia) – this can have a far more serious cause.
A Mass in the Brain
Image of a brain tumor. Credit: Christaras A
“Brain tumors may cause phantosmia,” says Sumeer Sathi, MD, a neurosurgeon with NYU Langone Health, who treats brain tumors.
“Phantosmia is also known as an olfactory hallucination – someone smells something that is not there.
“Brain tumors can directly cause this by injuring any structures involved with the olfactory system.”
The olfactory system consists of the smell receptors or nerve cells in the nasal cavity.
In addition, there’s the olfactory bulb, which is at the base of the brain.
In the brain is the olfactory cortex which interprets signals coming from the bulb and nasal neurons.
It’s easy to see that a cancerous mass that encroaches upon any point of this system can alter how an odor is processed.
“Alternately, brain tumors can also indirectly cause phantosmia by leading to possible seizures and strokes,” says Dr. Sathi.
What kind of phantom odors can a brain tumor cause?
Dr. Sathi explains, “People often report that the odor is unpleasant, such as burning, rotten or moldy smells.”
The burning may seem like that of tobacco smoke or rubber.
“However, symptoms are subjective and can vary from person to person,” adds Dr. Sathi.
This means it’s possible for the phantom smell not to be all that bad. But don’t let that fool you.
At the same time, try to keep things in perspective. The vast majority of phantosmia cases are NOT a brain tumor.
The seemingly imagined odor may also be real – if you look hard enough for it.
For example, the scent of your neighbor’s strong solid air freshener may actually be making its way into your unit via a shared venting system.
The mysterious cigarette smoke that you sometimes smell may be actual smoke coming through an open window as a neighbor walks by outside with his cigarette. But there may also be a medical cause.
Dr. Sathi’s expertise includes spine surgery and treating brain tumors including metastasis, gliomas, meningiomas and acoustic neuromas using gamma knife radiosurgery.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image credit: Freepik.com, karlyukav
Can MRI Wrongly Show High Grade Glioma that’s Really Low Grade?
Did your MRI show a high grade glioma? Could it possibly be low grade?
How accurate is the MRI at telling a high grade from a low grade brain tumor?
A glioma type of brain tumor develops from astrocytes, which are star shaped (hence the prefix “astro”) glial cells that support nerve cells.
When the glial cells or astrocytes grow out of control (cancer), the mass is called an astrocytoma.
It may also be called a glioma.
A high grade glioma is aggressive, growing faster than does a low grade.
The way a brain tumor appears on an MRI – along with its location in the brain – can be very telling as to what kind of tumor it is.
High Grade Glioma vs. Low Grade on MRI
“An MRI can provide useful information to help diagnose types of brain tumors,” says Sumeer Sathi, MD, a neurosurgeon with NYU Langone Health, who treats brain tumors.
“What is shown on the MRI can closely resemble one type of brain tissue, and it can turn out to be a different type.
“The only definitive diagnosis can be made through obtaining a biopsy (brain tumor specimen) and sending it for pathology.”
Dr. Sathi’s expertise includes spine surgery and treating brain tumors including metastasis, gliomas, meningiomas and acoustic neuromas using gamma knife radiosurgery.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
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Top image: Hellerhoff
Do Brain Tumors Grow Back or Were They Never All Removed?
Two of the most frightening words anyone can hear is, “It’s back.”
This refers to a brain tumor that’s returned after having been surgically removed.
Other treatment would have involved targeted radiation, in which a beam is directed straight at the tumor to shrink it.
Stereotactic radiosurgery does not mechanically remove a brain tumor.
Instead, it damages the DNA of the cancerous cells, impairing their ability to reproduce. This shrinks the mass.
In some cases, the brain tumor is benign, but still poses a major threat to surrounding tissue.
Some brain tumors, however, are considered operable.
When a Brain Tumor Grows Back After Conventional Surgery
“Some brain tumors may be treated with surgical resection,” says Sumeer Sathi, MD, a neurosurgeon with NYU Langone Health, who treats brain tumors.
“The goal with surgical resection is to remove as much tumor as possible without injuring normal/eloquent areas of the brain.
“Different brain tumors may recur or ‘grow back.’ These tumors are considered to be more aggressive or malignant.
“Some cancers may have already been seeded (spread) to other areas of the brain and not yet detected on imaging.
“They may be detected on follow-up imaging (surveillance).”
We do not yet have the technology to detect micro-metastases elsewhere in the body or even within local range of the cancer.
So when a brain tumor “comes back” or “grows back,” this may simply be leftover and undetected malignant cells having a chance to proliferate to a mass big enough that is eventually seen on a follow-up image.
There may not be symptoms at this point. However, in other cases, the “new” mass may start causing symptoms before a scheduled surveillance imaging.
In the case of a benign tumor, if it grows back, that’s because a tiny portion was left behind.
This portion may not have been detected. In other cases, it may have been seen by the surgeon, but intentionally left in place, due to the danger of removing it.
A new mass may also be located far from where the primary malignant tumor was located – having already been seeded there at the time of the original diagnosis but – as mentioned – under the radar of current detection technology.
“Other treatment options may be recommended to help prevent this from happening such as chemotherapy or radiation treatment,” says Dr. Sathi.
Dr. Sathi’s expertise includes spine surgery and treating brain tumors including metastasis, gliomas, meningiomas and acoustic neuromas using gamma knife radiosurgery.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
Can a Brain Tumor Cause Your Head to Suddenly Feel Heavy?
You’re going about your day when suddenly your head feels heavy.
It doesn’t last long and then you feel perfectly normal. Could a brain tumor be the cause?
“Brain tumor symptoms can vary greatly,” points out Sumeer Sathi, MD, a neurosurgeon with NYU Langone Health, who treats brain tumors.
“People with brain tumors can describe symptoms differently,” continues Dr. Sathi.
“Some people report a feeling of ‘heaviness’ in their head.”
A sudden or gradual feeling of heaviness in the head, however, is most likely NOT a brain tumor.
It may have no known cause, and it may just be something that a person has to put up with.
But if it recurs on a regular and especially frequent basis, the heaviness can have a variety of causes.
Even if it’s very occasional, a physician may be able to figure out what’s behind it.
Heavy Feeling in Your Head: Possible Causes Other than a Brain Tumor
BPPV: benign paroxysmal positional vertigo. The sudden sensation would come immediately after turning or moving your head, sitting up or lying down – hence the condition’s name.
However, the sufferer would very likely also experience a sensation of the room moving, even very slightly. The symptom ceases when one’s head becomes still.
This condition may come with nausea, and being off-balance when walking, and in severe cases, vomiting.
Treatment is the Epley maneuver.
TIA: transient ischemic attack. If the sudden heaviness in your head is frequent, it’s very likely not a TIA. In fact, overall, it’s very likely not one of these temporary or mini strokes.
A feeling of heaviness from a TIA usually affects one side of the body or a single whole limb, rather than something that’s just limited to the head.
Sinus infection or sinusitis. The heaviness or pressure in the head would likely be felt when one bends over, such as to pick something up from the floor, or when they lie down.
There may be a headache already present, and there wouldn’t necessarily be a runny or stuffy nose.
Drop in blood pressure. This can cause a sensation of heaviness in the head, but it would also be accompanied by a faint or dizzy feeling that makes you want to pause in your tracks as the room seems to fade out.
Head cold. This is a cold or “bug” that affects the head, but the symptom does not come on suddenly; it’s gradual, and gradually goes away as the body fights off the infection.
You may also go to bed feeling normal and then awaken with a “funny feeling” in your head due to one of these colds.
If you have continued episodes of a sudden (or gradual onset) heavy feeling in your head – see your physician. There may be a cause other than the ones listed above.
“Any symptoms with sudden onset or that are progressively worsening should be taken seriously and evaluated,” says Dr. Sathi.
Nevertheless, a brain tumor as a possible cause will be at the bottom of the suspect list.
Dr. Sathi’s expertise includes spine surgery and treating brain tumors including metastasis, gliomas, meningiomas and acoustic neuromas using gamma knife radiosurgery.
Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.
