A brain tumor represents a lump of affected or atypical cells which grows in and/or around the brain (within the cranium). The tumor is able to directly affect the surrounding healthy brain cells in the body along with indirectly causing damage to the cells by crowding other parts of the brain. This activity might result in inflammation, swelling, and pressure on the brain.

A malignant type of tumor grows rapidly and usually affects good areas of the brain. On the other hand, benign types of tumors often develop slowly.

Here are the treatments usually administered for a brain tumor
A variety of treatments are used to treat a brain tumor. The course of treatment to follow would depend on the size and type of the tumor, its location in the brain, and its growth rate. Overall, the types of treatment one might go through, include surgery, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and a combination of all these.

Surgery
Surgery is usually the first treatment alternative doctors prefer to lower brain pressure rapidly. In case the severity of the brain tumor is not high, surgery is the preferred course of treatment. If there are still some signs or traces of tumor, radiation therapy and chemotherapy are used. A surgeon takes out some or the whole tumor without damaging the surrounding brain tissues.

Surgery may also be used to lower the pressure within the skull, which is called intracranial pressure and it helps provide relief in cases when the tumor is hard to remove.

In the case of severe brain tumor, any single treatment will not be enough, and hence the combination of all is preferred to deal with the condition.

Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy is recommended in case of tumors which are sensitive enough to react to this treatment. This type of treatment is usually given for a few weeks. Researchers have invented some new techniques for using radiation in the last twenty years. These techniques help in focusing on damaged areas only (without influencing the surrounding parts). These new forms of treatment include radiosurgery, brachytherapy, and IMRT.

• In Intensity-modulated radiation therapy, computer-controlled X-ray accelerators are used to provide accurate radiation doses.
• Stereotactic radiosurgery delivers thin beams of radiation on the tumor from different angles.
• CT or MRI aids the doctors to know about the exact location of the tumor, and a computer helps doctors manage the doses of radiations.
• In the case of tumors located within or near sensitive places in the brain, stereotactic radiotherapy is used.

Brachytherapy
In this mode of treatment, radioactive sources are temporarily placed within the body to give an extra boost of radiation to the tumor affected site.

Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy, along with radiation therapy has become the standard treatment for malignant brain tumors. Chemotherapy can be used before, during, or post surgery and/or with radiotherapy to kill tumor cells and to stop them from reforming. Chemotherapy involves both pills or/and injections. The medicines used in this treatment are called radiosensitizers, which apparently make radiation therapy more effective.