Risk Factors for Terminal Brain Cancer
Terminal brain cancer represents the final stage of the disease, where the patient no longer responds to treatment. The primary treatments for cancer patients typically involve chemotherapy and radiation.
Often, brain tumors leading to terminal cancer have been neglected over a prolonged period. Even when symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, body imbalance, and impairments in speech, vision, and hearing arise, patients may delay seeking medical attention, potentially leading to treatment resistance.
Understanding the causes and risk factors of terminal brain cancer is crucial, although pinpointing exact causes remains challenging for doctors. It’s important to note that brain tumors are not contagious, but certain factors contribute to their development.
Causes of Terminal Cancer
Direct Cause:
Terminal brain cancer can occur when cancer cells migrate to the brain from other parts of the body via the lymphatic system or bloodstream, forming visible masses of tumors in the brain.
Metastasis Sources:
Metastatic cancer involves the spread of cancer from its original site to other areas of the body. This spread can happen through local invasion, where cancer cells invade nearby tissue, or through processes like intravasation, circulation, or proliferation.
Exposure to Radiation:
Exposure to radiation, particularly during infancy or to higher doses, is a significant contributor to the development of terminal brain cancer.
Environmental Factors:
Prolonged exposure to cigarette smoke, aspartame, and highly toxic chemicals can also increase the risk of terminal brain cancer.
Factors that increase the risk of terminal brain cancer
More than 17,000 people in the US are diagnosed with cancer every year. Malignant cancer accounts for 2% of cancers diagnosed in the US and leads to over 13,000 deaths.
Gender:
Men are at a higher risk of developing secondary brain tumors leading to terminal brain cancer compared to women.
Age:
While the majority of terminal brain cancer cases occur in individuals over 70 years old, leukemia, the most common childhood cancer, affects numerous children under 8 years old.
Race:
Terminal brain cancer is observed to be more prevalent among individuals of white ethnicity compared to other racial groups.
Family History:
Individuals with a family history of brain cancer have increased susceptibility to developing brain tumors, although it is not solely hereditary but can be an influencing factor.
Additionally, in the United States, more than 17,000 people receive a cancer diagnosis annually, with malignant brain cancer accounting for 2% of these cases, resulting in over 13,000 deaths.