Brain Cancer Treatment in South Africa

The treatment plan in brain cancer depends on a variety of factors. They include:

• Location of the cancer, its type, size
• Patient’s age and general health and well being of the patient.
• Spread of the cancer to other body parts or CNS
• Any pressure effects produced by cancer in the brain

Before surgery, steroids may be given to reduce any swelling or edema present in the brain. In case the patient has seizures, then the antiepileptic drugs are given before surgery. Any pressure effects in brain may require shunting, which involves a thin tube placed in brain and passed down to the abdomen. It helps in draining excess fluid in the brain and prevents any further damage to brain tissue. The main important options include surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

• Surgery: Surgery removes the cancer cells present in the brain. It is done by craniotomy, which involves making an opening in the skull. Most of the low grade or benign cancers are removed by surgery. In cases, where complete removal of cancer is not possible, partial removal is followed by chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Sometimes, in cases of difficult cancer, the doctor may only take a biopsy to determine the cancer tissue and decide further regarding the treatment options.
• Chemotherapy: Chemotherapy involves drugs that help to destroy the cancer cells. They are either given orally or in the veins. They are also given directly into the brain fluid through Chemotherapy drugs are decided depending on the brain cancer type. They are either given individually or in combination. It is given in cycles.
• Radiotherapy: Radiotherapy uses high energy radiations. It is usually given after surgery along with chemotherapy. It can be given as external beam radiation therapy or internal radiation. They are focused on specific brain areas where cancer cells are present, avoiding exposure to other healthy brain tissue. Conventional radiation therapy, proton beam therapy, gamma knife therapy are a few of the examples of external beam radiation therapy.

Success of treatment depends on the brain cancer type, its size, spread and overall health of the patient. Advanced or terminal cancer cannot be cured by treatment.