Brain Tumor Swelling After Radiation
When your doctor decides it is safe you will be given a schedule to gradually reduce the dose of the medication.
Brain tumor swelling after radiation. Even the lower dose makes sleep difficult. Some short term memory loss and difficulty thinking can occur if you are treated with whole brain radiation therapy. Radiation to the brain can cause these short term side effects. It will regrow on its own.
This can be frightening because you might think the radiotherapy isn t working. Swelling in the brain hair loss near the treated area if close to the scalp. Brain tissue swelling can develop during treatment. You may get a headache or feel pressure in your head if this occurs.
Some of these side effects can happen because radiation has caused the brain to swell. Learn about signs of edema including swelling in your feet ankles and legs. The health care team watches for signs of this problem and may prescribe medications to decrease swelling. Edema is a condition in which fluid builds up in your body s tissues.
Doctors call this oedema. Radiation necrosis which is the death of brain tissue at or near the treatment site. Trouble with memory and speech. Radiotherapy to the brain causes a short term swelling in the treatment area which raises the pressure in the brain.
Per an mri i was told it was brain swelling after the fact from radiation and that it is not that uncommon. 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. Extreme tiredness fatigue hearing loss. You dose may be changed as needed during your treatment.
Brain metastases occur when cancer cells spread from their original site to the brain. Steroids reduce brain swelling from the tumor itself or from the effects of radiation therapy. Brain metastases or secondary brain tumors occur in 10 to 30 percent of adults with cancer. 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.
Acute reactions occur immediately after treatment and are caused by radiation induced brain swelling edema. It can make your symptoms worse for a time. Take steroids only as directed by your doctor. The swelling may be caused by chemotherapy cancer and conditions not related to cancer.
This is truly the med from hell. Skin and scalp changes.