Brain Tumor Swelling After Radiation

Radiation necrosis which is the death of brain tissue at or near the treatment site.

Brain tumor swelling after radiation. It will regrow on its own. You may get a headache or feel pressure in your head if this occurs. Some short term memory loss and difficulty thinking can occur if you are treated with whole brain radiation therapy. Any cancer can spread to the brain but the types most likely to cause brain metastases are lung breast colon kidney and melanoma.

Edema is a condition in which fluid builds up in your body s tissues. When your doctor decides it is safe you will be given a schedule to gradually reduce the dose of the medication. Brain tissue swelling can develop during treatment. Brain metastases or secondary brain tumors occur in 10 to 30 percent of adults with cancer.

Swelling in the brain hair loss near the treated area if close to the scalp. Radiotherapy to the brain causes a short term swelling in the treatment area which raises the pressure in the brain. The swelling may be caused by chemotherapy cancer and conditions not related to cancer. The health care team watches for signs of this problem and may prescribe medications to decrease swelling.

Radiation to the brain can cause these short term side effects. Some of these side effects can happen because radiation has caused the brain to swell. I was originally put on dexamethasone 4mg 2 x day but after 16 days of that with no sleep and couldn t eat had to be cut back to just 4mg once per day. Extreme tiredness fatigue hearing loss.

Brain metastases occur when cancer cells spread from their original site to the brain. Learn about signs of edema including swelling in your feet ankles and legs. Trouble with memory and speech. Medicines are usually given to prevent brain swelling but it s important to let your cancer care team know about headaches or any other symptoms.

Cancer that spreads to the brain is usually treated with radiosurgery highly focused radiation with a tool such as the gamma knife followed by less intense radiation to the whole brain. Symptoms can mimic the symptoms of your brain tumor like speech problems or muscle weakness or those of increased intracranial pressure such as headache nausea or double vision. Acute reactions occur immediately after treatment and are caused by radiation induced brain swelling edema. Take steroids only as directed by your doctor.

This is truly the med from hell. Steroids reduce brain swelling from the tumor itself or from the effects of radiation therapy. This can be frightening because you might think the radiotherapy isn t working. Per an mri i was told it was brain swelling after the fact from radiation and that it is not that uncommon.

Even the lower dose makes sleep difficult. It can make your symptoms worse for a time.