New Delhi: Erratic mental health symptoms like aggression, confusion, altered behaviour, and persistent headaches may indicate the potential risk of a brain tumour, said experts on Friday, ahead of Brain Tumour Day. Brain Tumour Day is observed every year on June 8 to raise awareness about the debilitating disease that can make it hard for people to learn, plan, make decisions, concentrate, and make decisions. Brain tumours are abnormal uncontrolled growth of cells in the brain.
They can be malignant or non-malignant. “Brain tumours frequently mirror psychiatric symptoms, presenting as aggression, confusion, altered behaviour, irrelevant speech due to comprehension impairment, apathy, emotional instability, or disorientation,” Dr K Chandrasekar, Senior Consultant Neurosurgeon, Apollo Cancer Institutes, told IANS. The complexity of these symptoms underlines the deceptive nature of such serious mental conditions as potential indicators of a brain tumour.
Dr Kersi Chavda, Consultant Psychiatry, P.D. Hinduja Hospital & Medical Research Centre, Mahim told IANS that very often the signs and symptoms of a brain tumour mimic a mental illness.
“Memory problems like difficulty with short-term memory and forming new memories; changes in behaviour or personality; difficulty understanding or producing speech; vision problems; persistent headaches; and loss of coordination and balance are some of the symptoms of brain tumour that mimic psychiatric issues,” he added. Dr Ashish Sriva.