Brain Tumor Grades and Types

When I was first told that I had a brain tumor, “I was stunned. I was shocked. I wasn’t even sure what a brain tumor was other than bad, very bad.”*

I also had no idea of the different “grades” or “types.”

So when I saw this handy and nicely explanatory web page from the “Accelerate Brain Cancer Cure website- http://abc2.org/guidance/brain-cancer-facts/tumor-grades-and-types - that explained brain tumor “grades” and “types”, I wanted to share it with all of you.

TYPES

There are two types of brain tumors: benign and malignant.  According to the site, “Benign brain tumors do not contain cancer cells.” That’s the good news. The bad news is that “benign” brain tumors can be remarkably harmful and dangerous. For more info on the terrors of “benign” brain tumors please visit the wonderful “It’s Just Benign” website - http://www.itsjustbenign.org/ - which is an incredibly sarcastic/sardonic name for a website.

The ABC² website states that” Malignant brain tumors (also called brain cancer) contain cancer cells.” At all levels that’s bad.

GRADES

Here’s what the site says about brain tumor grades:

“Doctors group brain tumors by grade. The grade of a tumor refers to the way the cells look under a microscope:

• Grade I: The tissue is benign. The cells look nearly like normal brain cells, and they grow slowly.
• Grade II: The tissue is malignant. The cells look less like normal cells than do the cells in a Grade I tumor.
• Grade III: The malignant tissue has cells that look very different from normal cells. The abnormal cells are actively growing (anaplastic).
• Grade IV: The malignant tissue has cells that look most abnormal and tend to grow quickly.”

For more info go to http://abc2.org/guidance/brain-cancer-facts/tumor-grades-and-types

*This is a line from my book – “Chief Complaint, Brain Tumor - about my brain tumor and my journey in trying to recover from it. You can learn more about that here: http://www.chief-complaint.com/