While headaches are something everyone gets at one point in time, mostly they are considered harmless, as they can be a result of stress, tiredness, or just a busy mind.
Yet headaches can also be due to symptoms that can, in rare cases, signal something far more serious and deadly – brain tumour.
So, how can you tell the difference between a brain tumour and just an ordinary tension headache? According to experts, there is a recurring pattern – where most patients with brain tumours dismiss early symptoms, which can lead to delays in diagnosis. A few symptoms that often resemble everyday experiences include tiredness, stress, migraines, or even the menopause in women, overlapping with much more common conditions such as anxiety or sinus infections. A few other symptoms you may generally ignore include:
Difficulty finding words
Sometimes you may struggle to think of specific words and even form full sentences in a conversation without delay. Doctors say that while these may feel odd and out of character, most people dismiss them. Many times, people also write down their symptoms because they cannot say them out loud, knowing something was not quite right.
Brain fog
Brain fog is a common yet most underserved sign of a brain tumour that happens along with difficulty in focusing, thinking clearly, or even remembering things. While there are many triggers to brain fog, which include menopause, poor sleep, or stress, if it is accompanied by neurological changes like speech or vision problems, you must not ignore it.
Numbness or tingling
A lot of people often report tingling or numbness that shifts around the body. According to experts, it happens when a tumour affects your brain’s sensory or motor control areas – the regions that send and receive signals to different parts of the body. While there can be other explanations behind numbness, which include poor blood circulation, one-sided symptoms should always be checked.
A messy handwriting
Many patients with brain tumours also notice their hand-eye coordination changes – and there are times when they are not able to write anything or everything becomes messy. Doctors say small coordination changes can sometimes be due to fatigue or distraction, but consistent deterioration in writing, fine motor skills, or balance can signal problems with the brain’s motor control areas, which coordinate movements such as writing or buttoning a shirt.
Changes in personality
Changes in your behaviour or mood swings are very subtle but telling signs of a brain tumour. Doctors say that while it is natural for personality to fluctuate with life changes or stress, sudden or marked differences – especially alongside other symptoms, may indicate something more.
What is a brain tumour?
A brain tumour is an abnormal growth or mass of cells in or around your brain, and together with spinal tumours and brain tumours are known as central nervous system tumours. Doctors say brain tumors can be malignant or benign, and can be slow or fast growing.
Only about one-third of brain tumours are cancerous, but whether they are cancerous or not, the condition impacts your brain function and health. According to experts, brain tumors can affect anyone, but are slightly more common in men. Meningioma, which is usually benign, is the only type of brain tumor that’s more common in women.