A brain tumor is an incompletely studied disease, which, nevertheless, is dangerous for people. The tumor itself represents the formation of cancerous cells inside the brain (Kivi & Leonard, 2017). Since Mr. Mateo’s list of signs contains impaired vision, it can be assumed that the cancer is in the occipital or parietal lobe (“Brain tumor symptoms,” n.d.). The first part is responsible for processing all the information coming from the eyes. Because the patient has symptoms, other than vision problems, swelling in the parietal lobe is more apparent.
Cancer in this part of the grey matter disrupts coordination, making it difficult to determine the distance to objects. In the normal state, this part of the brain manages the control of somatic functions, such as processing information from various sensory organs (“The nervous system,” 2019). Although headaches may be a symptom of a brain tumor, their presence does not guarantee disease (Kivi & Leonard, 2017). Therefore, a headache may well be prompted by other factors, for example, lack of sleep. Since the tumor causes are unknown, it is difficult to say what could be done to prevent this condition. In addition to natural aging, the risk factors for this disease are the presence of another type of cancer, as well as smoking and working with the elements that cause tumors (Kivi & Leonard, 2017). Since none of these factors were mentioned in the text, a lifestyle change could be the only recommendation for cancer prevention.
At the moment, Mr. Mateo expects treatment, and, in the worst case, surgery. However, many procedures are involved in brain surgery, as there are different approaches (Krans, 2017). It can be either minimally invasive treatment or craniotomy, which involves opening the skull to remove the tumor. Brain surgeries are extremely risky because, in case of an error, the consequences can be catastrophic – from memory problems to coma (Krans, 2017). However, brain cancer is an extremely fast-growing tumor, so operation is often the only reliable method to combat it. An alternative is the complexes of radio and chemotherapy, but their duration is exceedingly long, and they are also much more painful. Although the operation is a dangerous procedure, in the hands of an experienced specialist, it represents a much faster and more reliable cancer disposal than other methods.
References
Kivi, R., & Leonard, M. (2017). Brain cancer.
Brain tumour symptoms: Changes in vision. (n.d.).
Krans, B. (2017). Brain surgery.
The nervous system. (2019).