39 brain tumor patients tell, what are the symptoms you initially ignored

Each year, around 7000 Germans develop a brain tumor. First symptoms occur, suspect the least Affected, behind it, a cancer. This highlights a study by British researchers. That had hardly taken a brain tumor Patient and his symptoms seriously.

If the vision blurs suddenly, or the concentration decreases, is rarely a serious disease behind it. Often, the more benign reasons, such as Stress or poor sleep are responsible. Understandable that many brain tumor patients ignore the first signs of her illness. Because a Tumor in the brain can manifest itself in the early stage of in such a, supposedly without risk complaints.

Researchers from the UK have 39 British interviewed had previously received the diagnosis of a brain tumor. Your question to the patient: What are the physical changes they had noticed at first, but then still not taken seriously?

As a representative of the disease at the beginning?

In the case of the analysis of the Interviews was: Before diagnosis, most respondents had found their complaints as a harmless and a wide variety of reasons. Stress at work or the increasing age of the Affected were being used as a logical explanation. A Patient told me he felt “silly” to talk with a doctor about his alleged aches and pains.

In most cases, finally, conversations with friends, colleagues or family had contributed members to ensure that patients had visited a doctor. During the Interviews with UK researchers, family members were sometimes present.

Patient reports: “My vision became blurry,”

FOCUS Online has collected a part of the statements. The full study can be found here.

In order to preserve the anonymity of the patients, the researchers have now published the quotes without a name and only a gender and a rough age group associated with it.

  • “I was at the sink washing dishes and bent down slowly getting lower over the basin. It is not strange that you think about it, to go to the doctor. Not just does it and thinks it will pass again.“ (male, 61-70 years, symptoms: physical weakness)
  • “Now, the pigeon is feeling on my face is very weak, so I didn’t notice it easily too.” (female, 41-50 years, signs: numbness in the face)
  • “Even if I said the wrong word, I thought to myself, this happens to all of us, it slips out just in time, a wrong word.” (male, 71-80 years, and signs: speech disorders)
  • “When you Speak, I slurred slightly, but has always stopped just about a Minute and then it was all over again.” (female, 51-60 years, symptoms: problems with pronunciation)
  • “I have read the words wrong, what’s happened to me before. It’s small signs like this, nothing serious. You think you’re just tired.“ (female, 31-40 years, signs: reading disorder)
  • “If I focused on something, it could easily happen that my vision became blurry, but I have devoted no special attention. I thought I was just a bit stressed from work and that everything has to do with the Stress.“ (male, 61-70 years, symptoms: blurred vision)
  • “I’ve started every day with a midday sleep to insert, but I thought: Oh, Yes, I am now over 50.” (female, 51-60 years, signs: fatigue)
  • “I can’t concentrate easily, but I thought to blame my Depression was back.” (female, 31-40 years, indications: lack of concentration)
  • Son: “He had difficulties to do things one-handed, and had no strength in his Hand. […] I thought he had a stroke.“ (male, 61-70 years, symptoms: weakness in one Hand)
  • “Focusing only on what is charged to a permanently. But a slight numbness here and there, disappearing again, restricts a not particularly.“ (female, 41-50 years, signs: numbness)
  • Wife: “I had a conversation with you and you’ve only brought a strange, jumbled words, but then you spoke with the dog and everything was back in order. […] I thought there was something wrong. […] I thought you had a stroke. […] I called the emergency.“ (male, 51-60 years, symptoms: speech disorders)
  • “I thought I was crazy, so I got me one Evening, and Alzheimer’s symptoms googled and I thought: This is what I have, an early stage of Alzheimer’s or something like that. I was depressed, I had memory problems, my hair fell out, I had a headache. I thought: Yes, I have Alzheimer’s.“ (female, 31-40 years, symptoms: depressed mood, memory problems, hair loss, headache)
  • Wife: “He told me that he had a severe headache. I said: Please go to the optician and have your eyes. Probably you need new glasses.“ (male, 61-70 years, and signs: headache)
  • “I thought to myself, my eyesight is as good as it used to be. […] I thought, this is clearly the fact that I used the Computer more often and such things. That I need a new pair of glasses.“ (female, 31-40 years, symptoms: blurred vision)

Signs made patients only not suspicious

A Patient reported, why is it none of the warning signs was taken aback: “You noticed all of the symptoms that could be related to a brain tumor, but also on all sorts of other things.”

The wife of one of the respondents said: “We have always found to be any explanation as to why he behaved the way he did it, so we never asks something behind”.

Early detection for brain tumors to date. Most patients go at some point due to persistent or stronger complaints to the doctor and then find out that you suffer from a brain tumor. This can be benign as well as malignant.

  • A comparison of different treatment options for brain tumors, you can find here.