World Brain Tumour Day is celebrated on June 8, every year to create awareness and educate the people about medical advancements in the treatment of brain tumours and the possibility of a high rate of recovery.
The brain is a highly important organ of the human body. Any medical ailment relating to the brain should be attended to without further delay. The patient can experience life-threatening situations or even loss of life in case of delay in treatment.
The symptoms of brain tumors are also related to their location in the brain. Most commonly patients develop early morning headaches, associated with vomiting, seizures, speech difficulty, poor understanding, and visual issues and so on. There have been instances in which a patient diagnosed with a brain tumor has no associated complaints or symptoms.There have been instances in which a patient diagnosed with a brain tumor has no associated complaints or symptoms.
There are innumerable instances of brain tumour patients resuming normal routines either within a few days or weeks of seeking treatment. Of course, the recovery depends greatly upon the type of tumour.
Dr. Gurneet Singh Sawhney, a practising Neurosurgeon in Mumbai at Fortis Hospital, Mulund and Vashi states, ‘The mainstay of brain tumour treatment is surgery. It is only after the surgery that a biopsy is performed on the tumour which reveals whether the tumour was benign or malignant.’
Recently, he treated a 65 YO female patient who was diagnosed with an apple-sized tumour in the occipital region arising from the torcula. The patient was complaining of persistent headaches and issues in vision. An MRI scan revealed that the tumour could be a benign tumour and surgery was advised to remove it as soon as possible.
The tumour was located in the torcula which is the largest vessel in the brain and any damage to it could cause death. Dr. Gurneet Singh Sawhney and his team performed the surgical excision surgery that took nearly 12 hours to completely remove the tumour. The patient also responded well to the surgery and she was discharged on the third day after the surgery. The post-operative scan revealed no signs of tumour and the patient regained her health too.
Dr. Gurneet Singh Sawhney, known to be one of the best neurosurgeon in India, further added, ‘Unparalleled advancements in the field of neurosurgery technology especially Neuro Navigation, Intraoperative Neuro Monitoring, Intraoperative Ultrasound, and MRI, Florescence dyes or 5-ALA have made it possible to be highly precise in surgical excision of the tumour.
Patients with benign tumours do not require further treatment after the tumour is removed. It is only in the cases of malignant tumours, the patients require to undergo radiotherapy and chemotherapy to ensure full cure. Treatment of malignant tumours and highly advanced tumours have greatly improved due to newer treatment approaches such as Stereotactic Radiosurgery, Cyberknife, Gamma Knife, Targeted Therapy, and Tumour Treating Fields which minimize the trauma experienced by the patients during their treatment journey.
Lastly, he adds, ‘Modern treatments and advancements in neurosurgery have multiplied our confidence in treating brain tumour patients with positive outcomes. We can reassure our patients of high chances of speedy recovery and they live normally once again.’
