Mass effect can cause further damage by compressing and displacing delicate brain tissue. The symptoms caused by increased intracranial pressure include nausea and vomiting, drowsiness, vision problems such as blurred or double vision or loss of peripheral vision, and the headaches and mental changes already mentioned. It can be observed by your doctor when he examines your eyes. This sign is common in young children, in persons with slow growing tumors, with tumors in the posterior fossa, and in older patients. As pressure increases, the patient's level of consciousness decreases.
Prompt treatment is required to avoid serious consequences.
In addition to the common, but non-specific symptoms listed above, other more specific symptoms frequently occur. The following symptoms are due to a tumor's effect on specific brain structures. Symptoms might occur on the right side of the body if the tumor is located on the left side of the brain and vice-versa, depending on the specific brain structure affected. The brain stem controls basic life functions including blood pressure, heart beat, and breathing. A tumor of the brain stem produces a variety of symptoms.