Signs & Symptoms of a Secondary Brain Tumor From Lung Cancer

When lung cancer metastasizes, the cancer cells can travel from your lungs to your brain, leading to a secondary tumor. The symptoms of such a condition include loss of muscular coordination, headaches, vision problems and memory or cognition problems.

Metastasized Cancers

• The International RadioSurgery Association asserts that there is a 20 to 50 percent likelihood that lung cancer will metastasize to the brain.

Ataxia

• One of the symptoms that cancer has spread to the brain is an inability to coordinate muscular movements, such as falling for no reason or bumping into things.

Focal Weakness

• Focal weakness is a reduction in strength that affects a specific part of the body, such as the right hand or left leg. Dexterity problems, such as not being able to get your key in the lock or dropping things, are examples of this.

Changes in Mental Status

• Changes in mental status or behavior, such as cognition or memory problems or sudden changes in your ability to process information or communicate, can indicate the presence of brain lesions.

Vision Changes

• Cloudy vision, a narrowing in your field of vision or just seeing less clearly than you are accustomed to, can indicate the presence of tumors in the vision centers of the brain.

Headache

• Sudden or increased headaches are one sign of a tumor. If you are a migraine sufferer, headaches can become more frequent or painful.