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Brain Cancer - Medical Negligence Compensation
Thousands of clinical compensation claims are initiated every year in the United Kingdom by medical negligence solicitors on behalf of people from all walks of life. A multitude of operations and procedures are executed successfully however a small percentage do go wrong, laying the grounds for medical negligence solicitors to take legal action in order to claim compensation. Both legal aid and the no win no fee scheme are available to pursue medical negligence compensation claims.
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When people think of "brain cancer", they often call it a "brain tumor". Nevertheless, not all brain tumors are cancerous. People do better when their brain tumor is not a cancerous tumor. Brain cancers can come from brain cells that become cancers or from the blood vessels or lining membranes that support the brain. Brain cancer can even be a metastatic cancer from other body areas. Brain cancer is a malignant tumor that is generally very serious.
Brain cancers can be primary brain tumors and can be made from different types of brain cells. The cells grow and develop rapidly and aggressively, taking up resources normally needed by healthy brain cells. Malignant cells quickly take up space meant by healthy cells and cause increased pressure in the skull.
The most common primary brain cancers are gliomas, meningiomas, CNS lymphomas, astrocytomas and medulloblastomas. The primary tumors are named after the type of brain cell or the aspect of the brain that is involved in the origin of the tumor. Tumors are graded according to certain characteristics. This grading nomenclature involves the following grades:
- Grade I-this is a benign brain tumor that grows very slowly with normal appearing cells.
- Grade II-this is a malignant tumor with cells that look a bit different from normal cells.
- Grade III-this involves cells that look markedly different from regular cells and are called "anaplastic cells"
- Grade IV-the cells look the most abnormal and grow the fastest of all brain cancers
- Metastatic brain cancer-the cells look just like the cells of the origin that they originally came from. For example, if it is a metastatic breast cancer, the cells look like breast cancer cells.
Brain tumors affect about 22,000 people in the US every year. The causes of brain tumor are unclear but are believed to be previous radiation to the head for other reasons, genetics, HIV infection, and smoking of cigarettes. There are some studies showing environmental causes of brain cancer, including chemicals they use in refineries, chemicals in the rubber industry, embalming chemicals and cell phones, although that connection has been strongly disputed by other studies.
The symptoms of brain tumors and brain cancer vary according to the location of the tumor and the size of the tumor. Some tumors have no symptoms and are not considered dangerous. Other tumors press on functional areas of the brain and give stroke-like symptoms such as speech difficulties, difficulty ambulating, sensory symptoms or upper extremity loss of function. The brain can swell and can cause symptoms due to swelling and inflammation around the tumor.
The most common symptoms of a brain cancer include a headache, clumsiness of arms or legs, weakness of the extremities in a stroke-like pattern or in a different pattern, seizures, visual disturbances, ambulatory difficulties or personality differences. Memory, alertness and attention can all be affected. Patients can have nausea and vomiting, particularly in the morning. Speech difficulties can occur and intellectual capacity can begin to suffer. These are often subtle symptoms that occur gradually and are often overlooked by patients and doctors alike.
Testing for brain tumors involve the use of CT scans of the brain, often using contrast media. MRI scans of the brain are highly sensitive for brain tumors. Routine blood testing may be normal or may show abnormalities, depending on the type of the brain cancer, and its size and location.
When a tumor is found on scanning, a biopsy of the tumor or complete removal of the tumor is recommended. This is done using a brain surgeon who can get into the area safely and take a sample of the brain tumor material. If the entire tumor can be removed, it often is removed at the time of the initial surgery. Stereotactic needle biopsies are sometimes used to get a small sample of the tissue for analysis.
The treatment of brain cancer involves surgical removal if possible, chemotherapy and radiation. The types of treatment used depend on the grade of the tumor and on the type of tumor growing in the brain.