The brain is one if not the most important organ in our body. It controls the vital functions of the body including speech, thoughts, memory, vision, breathing, movement and more. Since the brain is such an important organ, any little change or imbalance in the brain can lead to a serious problems. Any amount of swelling, bacteria, or abnormal growth in the brain could lead to a life threatening illness. An abnormal growth, such as a tumor impedes on different functions depending on where that tumor lies within the brain. Each year thousands of people are diagnosed with brain tumors, There are many different types of brain tumors, some curable, some not. In this paper I will address a specific kind of cancer, Glioblastoma Multiforme. Glioblastoma
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Since there is very little room for growth in the skull the growth of a glioblastoma can cause intracranial pressure which is what leads to many of the symptoms associated. General symptoms of the disease include headaches, dizziness, nausea and vomiting. The focal signs are weakness on one side of the body, sensory loss, with the most prevalent symptom being memory loss or neurological deficit due to the involvement of the frontal and temporal lobe (Bruce, 2016). Seizures, stroke like symptoms, and visual loss can often be signs of a glioblastoma as well (Young, 2015). Depending on where the location of the tumor is and how big the tumor is, the displaying symptoms can be very diverse. These symptoms can be associated with a number of other conditions so it is important to always see a physician to get an accurate diagnosis. The cause of glioblastoma, like many other tumors, is unknown in most cases but can be correlated to genetic factors, cell phone use, head injury, and race ( Bruce, 2016). Although some are controversial and do not have a strong correlation, they cannot be set aside due to the coincidence of them occurring with glioblastoma. As your age increases the more likely you are to be diagnosed with a glioblastoma. Glioblastomas are found more frequently in men than women and are also found more often in Caucasians, Hispanics, and Asians (Ohgaki,
Since there is very little room for growth in the skull the growth of a glioblastoma can cause intracranial pressure which is what leads to many of the symptoms associated. General symptoms of the disease include headaches, dizziness, nausea and vomiting. The focal signs are weakness on one side of the body, sensory loss, with the most prevalent symptom being memory loss or neurological deficit due to the involvement of the frontal and temporal lobe (Bruce, 2016). Seizures, stroke like symptoms, and visual loss can often be signs of a glioblastoma as well (Young, 2015). Depending on where the location of the tumor is and how big the tumor is, the displaying symptoms can be very diverse. These symptoms can be associated with a number of other conditions so it is important to always see a physician to get an accurate diagnosis. The cause of glioblastoma, like many other tumors, is unknown in most cases but can be correlated to genetic factors, cell phone use, head injury, and race ( Bruce, 2016). Although some are controversial and do not have a strong correlation, they cannot be set aside due to the coincidence of them occurring with glioblastoma. As your age increases the more likely you are to be diagnosed with a glioblastoma. Glioblastomas are found more frequently in men than women and are also found more often in Caucasians, Hispanics, and Asians (Ohgaki,