What to do when an elderly person has brain cancer

What should an elderly person do when he or she has brain cancer? The treatment method depends on the location and type of the tumor. If possible, surgery should be used to remove the tumor. Many tumors can be removed without damaging the brain or with minimal damage. However, surgery for tumors in certain areas may damage certain important brain functional areas and cause limb paralysis, paresthesia, and intellectual disability. Once an intracranial tumor threatens important brain structures, surgical treatment should be performed. Even if the surgery cannot completely remove the tumor, it is helpful in reducing the size of the tumor, relieving symptoms, conducting pathological examinations, and deciding whether to use other treatments such as radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Some benign tumors must be removed surgically because they can cause severe brain damage or even death if they continue to grow in a confined space. Meningiomas can usually be removed completely and safely, but very small tumors or those in older people may not need to be removed yet. Most benign tumors, such as schwannoma and ependymoma, are treated similarly. Sometimes radiation therapy is given after surgery to destroy any remaining tumor cells.

Most malignant tumors require a combination of surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. In most cases, radiation therapy is given after surgery as soon as possible. It can reduce the size of the tumor enough that it will not recur for months or even years. Chemotherapy is used to treat some types of brain cancer. It is effective for both metastatic and primary brain cancers that are located within the brain.

If intracranial hypertension occurs, it indicates a serious condition that requires immediate treatment. Mannitol and corticosteroids can be given intravenously to reduce intracranial pressure and prevent brain herniation. Sometimes an intracranial pressure measuring device is placed under the skull to monitor changes in intracranial pressure and adjust the use of drugs.

Treatment of intracranial metastases depends largely on the location of the primary tumor. Intracranial cancer is often treated with radiotherapy. Surgical removal is helpful for patients with metastases with only a single lesion. In addition to traditional treatment measures, some methods such as chemotherapy, implantation of radioactive substances into the tumor, and radiosurgery are being tested.