Brain Cancer: Behavior & Symptoms

Brain cancer can be the result of cancerous cells that originate in the brain, or it can be from cancer cells that have spread from other parts of the body. To test for brain cancer, your doctor would use a neurological examination which would be a series of physical tests to check your motor skills and your reaction time. Then your doctor would order an imaging test such as a CT scan or MRI to check for a cancerous tumor. To confirm the cancer, your doctor would need to gather a biopsy of the affected area and check it for cancerous cells.

Headaches

• One of the more common symptoms of brain cancer is headaches. The first thing you may notice is a headache pattern that is new to you. If you had never experienced chronic headaches in the past, then you may start to experience them as a result of brain cancer. If you used to get the occasional headache, then you may notice that you are getting headaches more frequently. Headaches will start mild, but as the condition advances your headaches will become more frequent and much more painful.

Confusion

• In the early stages of brain cancer, you may find yourself forgetting things, or you may start to forget directions to places you have been going for years. Over time, your confusion may spread to performing daily tasks, and you may start to forget people's names and important places. After a while you may develop this feeling as though you are constantly in a fog, and you become easily disoriented and forget frequently where you are and where you were going.

Vision Problems

• Another common physical symptom of brain cancer is problems with vision. You may start to experience blurred vision on occasion, or you may start to have double vision. You may also notice that your peripheral vision is starting to disappear, and you may start to develop a case of tunnel vision where you can only see the things that are directly in front of you.

Mood Swings

• At first you may not notice any difference in your behavior, or any problems at all. But as brain cancer starts to develop, the people around you may start to notice changes to your moods and behavior. You may become more anxious and irritable that you have been in the past, and you may become more easily angered. You may start to experience wide mood swings that may take you from laughing hysterically to crying out loud in a matter of minutes.

Movement

• Some of your motor skills may be affected by brain cancer as well. You may find it difficult to keep your balance, and you may not be able to walk without falling down or needing someone to help you keep your balance. You may start to notice a slow and gradual loss of movement and sensation in one of your arms or legs. You may also start to experience muscle spasms, and you may even start to have seizures even if you had never had seizures before in your life.