Brain Cancer Stages

Question: Brain Cancer~!~? There Is A Senior At My School That Has Fourth Stage Brain Cancer. Is This Bad? How Many Stages Of Brain Cancer Are There?

Answer: Yes, it's bad. Cancer is staged to determine the extent of the growth and the prognosis (expected future of the patient). The stages are 1, 2, 3, and 4. Four is the worst. This poor kid is on death watch, and may not be around to graduate. Count your blessings. "There, but for the grace of God, go I."

Question: What are the final stages of brain and spinal cancer? I have a brother dieing of cancer . Please help me to understand the final stages of what he is going thru and what I can expect. Help me to understand his pain and how to deal with it.

Answer: My heart goes out to you and your family at this time. I know what it's like to walk a family member through the stages of dying and then to be there when it takes place to see them out of this life. Your brother will be provided with pain medication, most likely morphine sulfate. He will kept as pain-free as possible and the morphine will be administered on a routine basis and for breakthrough pain. The idea will be to prevent pain rather than treat pain. What can you expect? Not all people experience all the phenomena of end-stage brain & spinal cancers. These are decreased mobility and muscle wasting, incontinence, preoccupation or distancing, headaches, increased sleeping, decreased eating, increasing confusion, childlike behaviors, hallucinations, difficulty with speech or conversation, personality changes, agitation, seizures, vision changes or blindness, references to travel or the end of life, nausea and vomiting, decreased talking, decreased drinking, swallowing problems, inability to keep eyes open for very long, low-grade fever, restless legs, serenity, coma, changes in breathing and death. These are more or less in order of occurrence. Help your brother face his impending death by helping him resolve any conflicts, by helping him find meaning in his life. The entire family can review his life and point out the good things he's done, how much he's contributed and how important he is to each of you. It's okay to talk about death and how very much you'll miss him. Don't avoid using the words "death" and "dying". Use them as often as appropriate. Don't use euphenisms like "passing" or "leaving". These words avoid the truth of what is happening. Answer any questions he may have as honestly as you can. Help him through the stages of anticipatory grieving by going through these stages with him. Assure him that he is loved without question. And finally, tell him it's okay to die and he won't die alone. Keep your word to him. His last breath will a sigh. Very gentle, very peaceful and very final.

Question: how serious is second stage of brain cancer? how many stages are there for brain cancer people? is operation needed for stage 2 brain cancer patients?

Answer: There are 4 grades of brain tumors. 1- benign 2- slow growing usually treated with surgery if it can be removed, some doctors will just monitor the growth to determine if it needs to be removed. 3- faster growing considered cancerous, treated with surgery radiation and chemo 4- fastest growing cancerous, treated with aggresive surgery, radiation and chemo Lower grade cancers can change into high grade.

Question: my cousin is 21 years old and has stage 2 brain cancer,is it safe for her to go for a kid? she is 21 years old and has undergone 3 chemotherapies, is it safe to have an intercourse in this position and how safe is her husband going to be...does cancer spread through exchange of saliva and other fluids?

Answer: Cancer is not contagious. You can not catch it. Nobody around her can catch it. Sex can actually make her feel better. so yes, there is no reason for her to not have sex if she wants it. That doesn't mean she should get pregnant. That is up to her doctor to tell her. It may be in her best interest to wait until the treatments are stopped to conceive. She may not live long enough to see her child grow up. Its a very personal choice to be made by your cousin and her husband. And no matter what she decides to do, as her friend and relative, you need to be supportive of that decision. Even if you don't agree with it, keep that to yourself.

Question: Can you live through a stage 4 brain cancer? Can you recover from it? Im asking because an important friend's mother has it, and if the answer is know please could i have an estimated time of how long she will live for. Im literally praying that she can get through this and be okay, the last thing my friend needs is his mother dying.

Answer: I am not a doctor nor am I qualified to answer your question, but I do have brain cancer. I have been told that Stage 4 is not good. It is the worst level you can get to and there is not a Stage 5. No one can tell how long your friends' mother has to live. It is not an exact science. With medicine and treatment, she could live awhile, but again, based on the type of tumors/cancer, location, size and grade, no one can know for sure. I am sorry that the news is not better. The best anyone can do now is to pray.

Question: A very close friend of mine has recently been diagnosed with stage three brain cancer? i've been trying to look it up but to be honest i work a lot and really don't have the time to look at a bunch of different medical websites but i want to be as informed as i can be on what is going on with him...help!

Answer: Every cancer is different just like every cancer patient is different. My tumor was grades 3 and 4. I had surgery and removed all of the grade 3 part, but the grade 4 part still remains. I did 6 1/2 weeks of intense radiation and I've been on chemo therapy since after my surgery. I've had steroids and avastin treatments as well. Chances are your friend has researched his own disease so your best bet is to ask him directly for some information. My tumor is a glioblastoma (gbm), but there are several different types. Location also makes a difference. My tumor is located between my primary motor skills area of the brain and the area that would have affected my speech. We caught it just in time. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/Detection/tumor-grade http://csn.cancer.org/node/141428 American cancer society offers a ton of great information as well. You might even try talking to some of the brain cancer patients here via e-mail or try a local support group for cancer patients and care givers....most care givers and patients love to help others understand ;)

Question: If you have stage four brain cancer and get kemo would it kill the baby? the baby is 9 months and Im just curious.

Answer: In all honesty it could seriously harm the baby or possibly result in death. If at all possible I would either wait until after the birth of the baby, or have labor induced. I hope whom ever this question is based upon has a complete and speedy recovery. Good Luck to them! :-)

Question: If you have stage 4 cancer(brain tumor) how long do you have to live? My mom was going through chemo and radiation but its wasnt helping her, the cancer was just speading more. We just found out that these are the last days of her life and i just want to spend it with her but i hurt when my girls are taking it harder than i am? I just want some kind of time frame.

Answer: ok,, here goes..Get off the computer! Go do everything with her you always wanted to do..NOW! and make sure you tell her everything you wanted to say and even those you did not. Love her! Like tommorrow is her last day. because it could very well be. I will keep you all in my prayers.

Question: i need help from ppl havin brain cancer? wen ppl develop cancer in its 1st stage , what are its symptoms?? i mean if ppl develop the very early stage of brain cancer wut could be the symptoms?

Answer: My mother died of brain cancer. The early stages were headaches, nausea, trouble with balance, vision trouble

Question: Last stage of brain cancer...? will operation, radiotherapy, chemotherapy bring some hope for a last stage brain cancer patient? what are the chances of success operation for last stage patient? if operation fail, does it mean instant death? or he will be a vegetable? lost of memory or what?

Answer: My husband had a Glioblastoma brain tumour in the left parietal lobe. It was in a location where surgery was not an option. It can depend on what type of brain cancer it is....whether it's a primary or secondary cancer.....where it's located......how advanced it is and whether or not it's in an active growth phase. Usually chemo and radiation can extend time, but only temporarily. Primary brain tumours are nearly always fatal but it doesn't mean instant death. My husband was diagnosed Jan 18 and was told he wouldn't live to see Valentines Day. He lived for 20 months! He was healthy the entire time, although his speech was affected. The weekend he died, he went for a 2 mile walk on Friday morning, spent an hour in the pool with his granddaughter in the afternoon, ate a good dinner and went to bed. He went into a coma during the night and died Sunday afternoon. It was peaceful and pain free. Sometimes surgery can affect mental ability and you really have to weigh out whats most important to you and your family....quality of life vs quantity of life. Is it worth having you in a vegetative state just to keep you alive when you can't talk, think, eat, walk and function on your own? Or is it better to have reduced time and be happy and as healthy and active as possible. Only the person affected can make that decision.

Question: Can someone with has stage four brain cancer still give birth to their baby? if someone was 9 months pregnant but learns they had brain cancer would the baby die or can they still give birth.Say they never had Kemotheraphy

Answer: As strange as it may seem, some people with advanced cancer, are perfectly healthy people. Sometimes they never knew they had anything wrong until they went for their yearly and had some blood drawn and some abnormal levels showed up and then had to have a CT or MRI and then the lesions were found. I say this because if a woman was able to sustain a pregnancy for 9 months with stage IV brain cancer and has a viable fetus, it obviously has not affected her reproductive organs or the growing fetus. Chemotherapy obviously would not be an option at this point. Natural childbirth if possible and then take it from there. The brain tumor may go away on its own after the pregnancy is over. Pregnancy puts tremendous stress on the body that may cause tumor growth. Sometimes with cancer, the cure is worse than the disease.

Question: Stage Three Brain Cancer Question? I have a close family member who was diagnosed with stage 3 brain cancer last month. He's at MD Anderson, one of the best cancer hospitals in the world, but it's their policy to never give anyone a timeframe or "expiration date" as some would say. Although none of us want him to know what timeframe that may be, we all kinda wanna prepare ourselves for what lays ahead. Has anyone you know been diagnosed with stage 3 brain cancer? And if so how long were/did they expect to live? I know everyone is different but we have no idea and kinda want a heads up so to speak. Thank You.

Answer: my brother in law was diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiforme stage 4(brain cancer) in April of this year 2007. all i can tell you is that there are miracles that happen. you just have to keep praying and keep your faith. there have been many studies so there are more survival rates nowadays. my bil goes to UCLA here in L.A. that is one of the best hospitals for this type of cancer.. we are all behind him and praying for him to pull through with a miracle. good luck and keep your faith.

Question: If you were diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer would you take chemo and radiation, and why?

Answer: I have grade 4 brain cancer (glioblastoma mal) and yes. I went through surgery in Dec. Now went through six and a half weeks of intense radiation and now I am going through high dose chemo. I've had other treatments along the way. As to why.....Because I'd like to live. I have a husband, and 2 year old son to live for. Just because you have cancer doesn't mean the world stops turning. I still work full time and I am still a full time wife and mother.

Question: what stage brain cancer did adam cook have?

Answer: OK, first off - let me say - speaking from watching and losing my sister after a 2 year battle at the age of 23 (6 yrs ago on 5/2/09) after being diagnosed with Glioblastoma Multiforme STAGE 3...I don't believe anyone has the right to say how to "rate" this horrible disease...the only thing that matters is hoping that ONE DAY SOON someone will find a cure to this AWFUL disease. Anyone who's life that has been directly or indirectly effected by Cancer...understands - the type,stage or grade..however you choose to say it..isn't what it's all about - it is HOPING, PRAYING and BELIEVING WITH ALL OF YOUR HEART that your loved one will be the next miracle.... ....and I'm sorry - where exactly does it say ANYWHERE that the survival time for people who have been diagnosed with brain cancer is 10 years .... hmmm...that's interesting - I LOST MY SISTER AFTER 2 VERY HARD YEARS!!! Wow, looks like before posting anything on here some people should probably have some knowledge as to what they are talking about...I'm guessing that's why I don't see your name as GOD - after all - HE KNOWS - YOU DON'T!

Question: if no treatment seek, how long does it take from brain cancer 3rd stage to become 4th stage?

Answer: Cancer staging is never set in stone but is a process of development with small changes happening all the time. You might have some elements of stage 3 disease at the same time as you have some elements of stage 4. By the time you reach stage 3, parts of your disease are already transforming into stage 4 disease. Simple answer is not very long.

Question: what are the symptoms of dieing from brain cancer? my grandfather was diagnosed with lung cancer in october, and it spread to his brain and now my family says he is going through the "end stage" what is the end stage? and what happens? he is having seizures, and talking about his mom and seeing her, please help, thank you.

Answer: Hello Bree: I am sorry your going through this. But your love for your grandfather is great. As the cancer presses on his brain it causes seizures as well as hallucinations, a lot of pain from the presser and loss of vision. His blood pressure will go up or down depending on where the mass is. His breathing will become erratic and labored. His heart rate will slow down. His chest will hurt every time he takes a breath. His speech will also be slurred if he can speak at all. To show acknowledgment of you he will most likely just blink as if to say I know. And when he does die he will most likely just take a deep breath and let it out and not take another breath. At this time his body will loose control of his bowels and you will have a mess to clean up after you sit down and cry. If he is at home I recommend you just toss the sheets. I am sorry if it seems like my answers are cold. But they are not meant to be that way at all. I watched too many people die this way from a brain tumor as well as lung cancer. It is not easy to watch the ones you love die. But take comfort in the love you show them will be what you will remember the most. My prayers are with you and your family. If you are a young person please show this to your mother and father too.