When Your Rare Brain or Spine Tumor Recurs
A recurrence is when your tumor begins to grow or has come back. Even when treatment has finished, there is always a chance the tumor will recur. It is not possible for your doctor to know if or when your tumor will recur. Tumors often come back in the same spot as the original tumor. But it is possible for a brain and spine tumor to return in another location in the central nervous system (CNS).
Symptoms
Signs and symptoms of a recurrent brain or spine tumor are often the same symptoms you had before, but can feel more pronounced. If you have worsening of your symptoms or new symptoms, it is important to talk to your health care team. You can also find strategies to manage your symptoms.
Follow-up Care
It is important to continue to be monitored by a neuro-oncologist after you complete treatment. Monitoring may include physical and neurologic exams and imaging of your brain or spine. By being monitored, your doctor will be able to detect a recurrent tumor and start treatment. Your treatment may include chemotherapy or you may join a clinical trial to test a new treatment.
Feelings
Finding out that your tumor has recurred can cause feelings of shock, anger, sadness, and fear. But this time you have something that you didn’t have before - experience. You’ve lived through cancer already and you know what to expect. Treatments also may have improved since you were first diagnosed. New drugs or therapies may be more successful and help with your treatment or in managing side effects.
We understand that facing a recurrence can be scary and challenging for you and your family. Use these resources to help guide your treatment decisions, find support, and inspire you through another cancer journey.
Guiding Questions
- Questions to Ask Your Doctor or Surgeon if You Have a Recurrence
- Questions to Ask Your Neurosurgeon
- Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Your Treatment
- Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Clinical Trials
- Questions to Ask Your Doctor About Support
It is important to the success of your treatment to find a doctor that has experience treating your tumor type. Given brain and spine tumors are rare, there are few centers that have doctors with that level of expertise. Use our network of healthcare professionals to find an experienced doctor near you and get a second opinion.
Treatment Resources
- Types of Cancer Treatment
- Side Effects
- Clinical Trials Information
- Complementary and Alternative Medicine