Lectures / 09/11/2009 7:30 pm

Body?

Diagnosis Brain Tumor: A Life Between Hope and Hard Facts. Things to bear in mind in connection with this disorder

The therapeutic possibilities available for patients with brain tumors have been dramatically on the rise over recent years. What is the potential of these new forms of treatment and what side effects must be reckoned with? The presentation will give a brief survey of diagnostic procedures, surgical possibilities and post-operative treatment in terms of radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

The diagnosis “brain tumor” hits people from all sectors of society and age groups – and usually out of the blue. For medical practitioners accompanying patients through this time of hope and anxiety the challenge is a multiple one. They have to take the special characteristics of patients with malignant brain tumors into consideration, who differ markedly from all other cancer patients. Symptoms such as character changes, psychiatric traits, neurological problems (speech disorders, paralyses, epilepsy) that may appear even in early stages are typical of this kind of brain disease. All this must be taken into account in the psychosocial care we give to patients and their relations.