Headache? Fatigue? Depression? Maybe It's A Brain Tumor

Let's use an example: Say someone you know is experiencing the following symptoms: headache, fatigue and depression. What is your first guess? Maybe something like stress or a significant life event (death of a loved one, divorce, job loss, etc) was the root cause? My initial thoughts would probably be similar and I would not show an immediate cause for concern. However, these symptoms may actually be something serious.

MAYBE these symptoms are caused by a brain tumor. Depending on the size and location of a glioma the most common symptoms may include any of the following:

• Headaches
• Seizures
• Sensory (touch) and motor (movement control) loss
• Deep venous thrombosis (DVT, or blood clot)
• Hearing loss
• Vision loss
• Fatigue
• Depression
• Behavioral and cognitive (thinking) changes
• Endocrine dysfunction (hormone/gland changes)

Gliomas may present as one or more of these symptoms which may make an early diagnosis difficult. Specifically, headaches, fatigue, depression, and endocrine dysfunction may all be related to other diseases. Therefore, brain tumors may go unnoticed until they grow to be a larger size and/or cause more troubling symptoms like seizures. hearing or vision loss, or even loss of sensory and motor function. 

Of course, experiencing any of the above may  contribute to reasons why a patient may seek care but the most obvious would be those "troubling symptoms" that I listed. If someone is experiencing an unusual amount of fatigue or has a new onset of depression, it would be a good idea to seek advice from a health care provider. Also, headaches which occur most frequently in the morning upon waking, would be something else to mention to a health care provider. 

Sources:

Brain Tumor Symptoms. (2014, January 1). Retrieved February 7, 2015, from http://www.abta.org/brain-tumor-information/symptoms/