curious daughter about her mothers brain tumor. - Is there a cure for brain tumor

	Asked by dianasalcedo (Male ) on Sun 30, Mar 2008 06:17pm :
	my mom has a brain tumor. she had two previous surgeries. her last surgery was in 2002. she lost her hair and couldnt walk or remember anything. about a year later she grew her hair back and learned to walk again. her doctor released her abt 2 yrs ago and said she could go any day now. but its been so long.she doesnt get better or worse she has remained the same for 2 years now. she remembers her past, and thinks that its the present. she has had a tumor since 1999. ive heard of a lot of patients that have the same thing and they die within a year. is it weird that shes still alive? could there be a cure?
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	Answer by Dr Heinrik M, MD (oncologist) on Mon 31, Mar 2008 09:59am: Hi, Brain tumors tend to have a wide range of outcomes, from the rapidly deteriorating as a function of weeks or days to those who attain some stability over years. The differences in outcomes is partly due to uncertainties in classification (as some people never get any surgery and only get a CT scan in which there is no confirmation what the brain tumor actually is), at the end of the day though - the main message is that for brain tumors - it would be best to make estimates of treatment goals and prognosis on an individualized basis. Has the tumor grown back since the surgery in 2002? If so, I am assuming that surgery is not possible at the current time. If this is the case, then an approach to cure while possible, is not probable. It becomes a question then of how rapidly the tumor is growing. The other scenario is that the tumor is hardly growing and hence is not producing any symptoms. It may be even growing at a rate in which your mom may die of old age, before the tumor is large enough to cause problems. This isn’t a weird scenario - as there are patients who are safely observed with regular scans to see if there is any change in the size of the brain tumor. If the tumor is growing really slow, then a cure may not be needed at all. It may be a good idea to have a consultation with a neurologist to become familiar with what to expect should sensitive areas of the brain are compressed by the growing tumor. Thank you for using our service.  If you are satisfied with the answer or if you want a detailed answer for your question, please make a donation and request for further clarifications.  Our oncologists will provide an elaborate answer for your clarification.   Please make a donation by clicking the button below. You may donate using funds from your PayPal account or Credit Card. Please rate my answer (select the stars below, no need to log in.)
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