Why Do Brain Tumours Sometimes Create Strange Symptoms?

When a brain tumour begins to develop, it can cause a range of symptoms that can be strange and unsettling, especially before the cause has been identified.

Amethyst Radiotherapy News  |  October 1, 2024

Why Do Brain Tumours Sometimes Create Strange Symptoms?

The brain is a highly complex organ and sometimes we all have the odd moment when we think our minds are playing tricks on us. However, when a brain tumour begins to develop, it can cause a range of symptoms that can be strange and unsettling, especially before the cause has been identified.

Here’s a look at some unusual symptoms and the potential causes in relation to brain tumours.

Visual and sensory hallucinations

Visual and sensual hallucinations, such as bizarre images, odd sensations and phantom smells can be a symptom of a brain tumour.

This was the experience of Lucy Younger, 24, who was finally diagnosed with a brain tumour after a year of misdiagnosis and dismissals by doctors. Lucy began to have alarming visual hallucinations such as seeing pink elephants, and sensory hallucinations such as smelling bacon and tasting metal. She also had a pins and needles sensation in her face, News Shopper reports.

Factors that may cause unusual symptoms

The location of the tumour

The location of the tumour has an effect on the type of symptoms that are experienced. Tumours near to the occipital lobe are the most likely to create visual hallucinations, because this is the part of the brain that processes visual information. It may also cause changes in the vision, and patients may find it difficult to identify the colour and size of objects.

A tumour on the frontal lobe may cause changes in personality or behaviour, or affect reasoning and logical thinking. The frontal lobe also controls movement, so patients may experience difficulties walking or weakness on one side of the body. It may also cause loss of smell.

A tumour in the temporal lobe may cause problems with short term memory and speech, and the patient may hear voices in their head. This is because the temporal lobe is the part of the brain where we process sounds and store memories.

Pressure on the brain

The brain tumour may cause pressure inside the skull as it grows, which can affect several areas of the brain. For example, it may cause confusion or disorientation, blurred or double vision, headaches, or seizures. It can also disrupt the signalling between the brain and the central nervous system, which can cause sensory changes such as phantom smells.

Doctors dismissed symptoms as anxiety and depression

Unfortunately, Ms Younger had to make several visits to the doctors with her unusual symptoms before she was finally sent for a CAT scan.

She said: “I figured, they’re the GP – they know what they’re talking about, so I guess I’ll just do what they say. I had a couple of bigger seizures when I went home – I actually passed out with these ones. I started getting migraines so bad the entire right side of my body would go numb.”

She added: “I thought, I’m either going into psychosis or I’ve got a tumour – it definitely wasn’t depression or anxiety. They said ‘you’re too young’. ‘A girl like you wouldn’t have a brain tumour’.”

My pharmacist advocated for me – once he’d spoken to my GP, they arranged for me to have a CT scan. I went in the July – and finally got my diagnosis of a benign brain tumour.”

She said: “You do know your own body. If there is something wrong you need to advocate for yourself. I caught my brain tumour early. If I hadn’t there could have been a chance it wouldn’t have been removed and the ending would have been a different scenario. People think a brain tumour is a death sentence – it’s not always that way.”

Cases similar to Ms Younger’s can be diagnosed by Amethyst Radiotherapy and treated using Gamma Knife surgery, a well-established method of treating selected brain tumours or lesions in the brain.

For information about Gamma Knife surgery and brain tumours, please contact Mr Neil Kitchen of Amethyst Radiotherapy.


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