Just out of curiosity why do most HA sufferers think of a brain tumour as THE illness

[Beth28]

I have been there, it is frightening but seeing as many friends past away or struggle with chronic illnesses. Why focus on a brain tumour? Do we hate or fear ourselves that much?

[emlica]

Well, I don't have that particular worry, so not sure I'm the best person to answer it, but I'd guess it's a combination of things:

1) how common 'ordinary' headaches are - so if you're an HA sufferer the chances of you having a bad headache at some point in your life are pretty high, and there's a perception that headache is the first sign of a brain tumour

2) there's no way you can 'feel' for a lump or have someone say 'no, you don't have a lump in your brain, you don't have a tumour'. So it's kind of 'unknown'.

3) having something 'growing' in your brain is probably a scarier thought than having it growing elsewhere as lots of bits of your body can be removed if necessary, but obviously your brain can't be...

[Freddiemercury]

It's so interesting to me because I work with individuals with brain tumors from time to time and it's not really as much of a concern of mine *knock on wood*. I agree though that I see a lot of that on here. I think people have a perception that a brain tumor can be easily overlooked (not really true if you get the right care) or extremely deadly (the most deadly type of brain tumor is quite rare). And I agree with all the points emlica said so I won't dwell on them again. It is no doubt a very scary disease but I guess I realize how rare it is. I also think so many signs of anxiety can mimic what people think of as signs of a tumor - dizziness, headaches, confusion, etc. In fact, from my experience when people have the deadly type of brain tumor, they don't come in with a headache. They are seriously messed up. But I think a lot of people don't realize this.

[melishaxoxo]

I have been there, it is frightening but seeing as many friends past away or struggle with chronic illnesses. Why focus on a brain tumour? Do we hate or fear ourselves that much?

I have been having sever eye pain and eye swelling which then goes on to becoming forhead and cheeks hurt and almost feel numb. I am not making it up nor am i ignoring it because if it were nothing i would not need to worry. Sometimes i feel light headed and i have been to my eye doctor whom checked my eyes 4 times and all he did was gave me eyedrops after drops finished then symptoms returned, so he is now thinking it could be something else which is causing my eyes to pain and swell like that so tomorrow hes sending me for a mri scan as well as blood tests, so yes i am shit scared and the fear of it being a brain tumor could be possible as this all started in last 2011 when i noticed my eye would feel weird and now it feels like its going to pop out of my skull. The fear of having a tumor is what scares me most and i cant shake it off until scans are clear....

[Tinker28]

I know your fear all to well. Mine started about five years ago, and mine started with my eyes as well, but mine were double vision, and google didn't help and when I went to my doctor he sent me for a cat scan to see if it were a tumour, that whole time I was in total fear and panic and I was dizzy all the time and confused and forgetful then when all them symptoms occurred I was even more scared. I know your fear. My cat scan was normal. Try not to worry brain tumours are rare and doctors usually sent you for tests to rule them out first or I think they are just bored and I want something to do. LOL. Try to stay calm. Worrying will get you no where.

[nomorepanic]

To be honest I would say that brain tumours come second to cancer with HA sufferers.

[joelhall]

Most likely a mixture or Google symptoms and not knowing much about how the brain works and controls the nervous system. It's very common as anxiety mimics what people believe are classic neurological disease symptoms.

[nataliewoods88]

im soooo scared of getting a brain tumour, i am a HA sufferer and the reasons can think of are a. you can't see inside your brain easily b. its a hard cancer to treat so automaticslly that mean death sentance c. its something growing on your control system, you need your brain to be in tact and c. you can't easily operate on the brain, its inside a skull! eeek!! scary stuffx

[matrix123]

In my case BT is my biggest scare right now. It's because so many things match it :(

- One sided headaches and kind of dull feeling behind the right eye
- lightheadedness/dizziness/vertigo feeling
- weakness or perceived weakness in left side (arm/leg)
- anxiety itself which can be caused by BT
- others which I'm sure I have forgotten right now