Brain tumor treatments and therapies

Treatment for brain/spine tumors vary greatly from person to person. Your medical team may use any combination of surgery, chemotherapy, embolization, radiation, or new immunotherapies to control your cancer.

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Treatments and therapies for brain tumors

Surgery

Surgery to remove some or all of the brain tumor, called a craniotomy, and is performed by a specially trained neurosurgeon. The surgeon opens the skull and removes as much tumor as safely as possible.

Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy (radiotherapy) uses X-rays and other types of medical radiation aimed at specific parts of the brain. The radiation kills cancer cells, prevents cancer cells from developing or recurring, and improves many of cancer’s symptoms. For certain cancers, radiation therapy is combined with chemotherapy and called chemoradiation.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy uses drugs that slow down, damage or kill cancer cells. It may involve single drugs or combinations of drugs given through a vein in your arm or by mouth. Your team will also prescribe drugs to reduce or eliminate chemotherapy’s side effects.