Brain Cancer & Eye Pain

The pain caused by brain cancer varies by patient. The location and size of the cancer can affect where you feel pain. According to the American Brain Tumor Association, headaches are a common first symptom for most brain cancer patients.

Features

• Malignant brain tumors can grow quickly and spread to other parts of your body. As the tumors grow, they crowd your healthy brain tissue. This can damage your brain tissue and create symptoms associated with brain cancer.

Symptoms

• Common symptoms of brain cancer include nausea, vomiting, seizures, problems with balance, changes to mood, memory, speech, vision or hearing, and eye pain. You may also experience steady headaches that seem worse in the morning.

Headaches

• According to the National Brain Tumor Society, headaches are the most common type of pain caused by brain cancer. These headaches are caused by the tumor pushing against your brain. This crowding can damage to your brain and create pressure in your skull. The increased pressure can cause not only headaches but eye pain as well.

Eye Pain

• Tumors on your optic tract or midline can affect your optic nerve and cause eye pain. Most eye pain is caused by a swollen optic nerve due to the increased pressure created by the tumors. See your doctor if your eye pain is accompanied by other vision problems or other brain cancer symptoms.

Solution

• Your treatment plan may include surgery, chemotherapy or radiation therapy to treat the cancer. These treatments attempt to shrink the tumor to help relieve the pain and pressure. Your pain can also be managed with prescription pain medications.

Considerations

• If it is safe to delay treatment, consider a second opinion. Your doctor should be able to recommend another specialist who is qualified to review your case. Pain management programs may also help you with your pain. These programs use medication and physical therapies to help decrease your pain.