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My husband has a small tumor on his brain which his doctor said must be removed. The thought of brain surgery is frightening to us both. Can you give us any encouragement?

Yes, new technology has made it possible for neurosurgeons to plan and rehearse an operation before it takes place. Doctors can plan their strategy on a computer monitor; and if any problems are revealed, changes in the plan can be made. Tumors, aneurysms, epilepsy and arteriovenous malformations now can be treated more precisely than ever before. Some disorders previously considered inoperable, including abnormalities deep inside the brain, are now treatable with the help of this technology. Because the computer reveals the exact location of an abnormality, the surgeon can make the smallest possible incision or no incision at all.

While the operation is taking place, a small wand can be used with the computer to help determine exactly where the surgeon is operating and reveal the extent of the abnormality below its visible surface.

This reduces many of the risks associated with brain surgery. Talk to your surgeon about this new technology and share any questions and concerns you have. The answers you receive will help reassure you and reduce your fears about this upcoming surgery.
Brain Tumor and “Knifeless” Surgery

My 52–year old husband has been told that he has an inoperable brain tumor. We will go anywhere to find treatment for him. Does he have any choices?

Your husband may be a candidate for photon surgery (stereotactic radiosurgery), which merges sophisticated computer software with the technology of physics and radiation therapy. It is an option for some individuals whose brain tumors are inoperable because of the location of the tumor or because the patient’s general health is not adequate to undergo a surgical procedure. It can also be used to obliterate certain blood vessel malformations in the brain.

Photon surgery is a two–step process. The patient is first evaluated with scanning equipment that produces a three–dimensional map of the brain, allowing doctors to determine precisely where the tumor is. The surgeon, radiation therapist, physicist and computer scientist, work with these images and data, to develop a treatment plan that will destroy the tumor, but spare surrounding tissue.
The procedure itself involves precisely directing a cone of X–ray particles, or photons, to the tumor. The device that delivers the photon is directed by a computer. There is no incision, which is why this procedure is sometimes called “Knifeless” surgery. The treatment takes about two hours and the patient can return home the next day.

This approach to the destruction of some brain tumors has been in use at CCF for six years and is usually quite successful. A neurosurgeon can determine whether your husband is a candidate for this treatment option.
Brain Tumors in Adults

What are the current treatments available for malignant brain tumors?

The successful treatment of malignant brain tumors, remains one of the most difficult problems in medicine. Conventional treatments such as surgery and radiation treatments are often effective ways of causing a tumor remission but rarely result in cure or even a long survival. As a result, a wide variety of experimental therapies are available and should be considered as part of tumor management.

Surgery
Recent advances in computer guidance systems (“frameless stereotaxy”) have expanded the scope of tumors that are operable while allowing minimally invasive techniques using smaller incisions and resulting in fewer wound complications. Surgery for malignant brain tumors is most beneficial when the vast majority of the tumor can be removed, but even then it is almost never curative. “Debulking” a tumor refers to removing only a part of the mass of a tumor to help relieve pressure on the brain, when more radical tumor removal is considered unsafe, or when tumor tissue is needed to generate a brain tumor vaccine (see below).
Brain Tumors in Children

My neighbor’s 5–year–old daughter has a brain tumor. I’m reluctant to ask questions about it, but my own kids are curious. What causes brain tumors? How likely is it she will be cured?

Tell your children that although the little girl is sick and will have to undergo a lot of therapy, there is a good chance she will be successfully treated. The likelihood of survival depends on many factors, but almost 60 percent of children survive the illness.

Brain tumors are the second most common form of cancer in children. There are many different kinds of brain tumors, and the type of treatment depends on the type of tumor, its extent and location. Some types of malignant tumors can often be successfully treated, while some benign tumors are resistant to all treatment.

We don’t know exactly what causes brain tumors; there are probably many factors. Scientists who investigate the causes of disease (epidemiologists) are investigating many possibilities including chemical and electromagnetic “Pollution”, although there are no known definite causes. There are three basic approaches to treating brain tumors, and a patient may require different combinations of each. Neurosurgery is usually essential to determine the kind of tumor. During the operation, the surgeon will attempt to remove all visible tumor tissue. Many patients will also require radiation and/or chemotherapy treatments after surgery to eradicate any remaining tumor cells that might multiply and form another tumor.

Radiation therapy is generally given in 20 to 30 treatments over a 4–to–6 week interval. Chemotherapy is given in specified cycles spread over a year. Both therapies have side effects, and neither is considered better or more effective than the other.

Your neighbor may not wish to discuss her daughter’s illness, but you or your children need not avoid them if they are friends. A tumor operation and subsequent therapy will consume a lot of your neighbor’s time. You might want to offer to help out by baby–sitting, driving children to school and running errands.