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Anyone diagnosed with a tumor will always have that moment of terror before the doctors can finalize with the tests and classify the tumor. While malignant tumors are a nightmare, benign tumors are not cancerous and easier to deal with.
All tumors share similar characteristics. They are all cells your body doesn’t need but are not destroyed at the right time. They might be old, damaged or deformed cells that don’t do your body any good. These unnecessary cells will then accumulate leading to a growth (tumor) that will vary in size depending on the seriousness of duration of the problem.
How Are Benign Tumors Different
Benign tumors are simply non-cancerous. The cells in the tumor might be abnormal but they don’t possess the power to travel to other parts of the body. The tumor becomes a contained mass of cells that will stay and affect its immediate environment.
The fact that a benign tumor will not spread is good news in itself. This, however, doesn’t make malignant tumors safe. If they grow too big and put undue pressure on a primary nerve, a main artery or compress the brain, the results could be catastrophic.
Popular Causes of Benign Tumors
The most popular causes of such growths include trauma to tumor location, chronic inflammation, undetected infections or improper diet. This makes tumors a threat even to people whose genealogy doesn’t have tumor histories.
A protective sac often surrounds such tumors. The sac is the body’s immune system trying to segregate the growth and its malformed cells from the rest of the body. While this rarely contains the situation, it makes it easier for surgeons to get rid of the tumor during an operation.
The most common types of benign tumors include:
- Adenomas that affect epithelial tissue covering organs
- Meningiomas that affect the brain and spinal cord
- Fibromas or fibroids in organ connective tissue and common in the uterus
- Hemangiomas that affect the skin and blood vessels
What to Do After a Benign Tumor Diagnosis
If diagnosed with a benign tumor, your doctors will first monitor it and identify its immediate danger to the body. While the tests are running, it would be wise to shift to an anti-cancer regimen since some benign tumors could easily turn malignant.
The ultimate way to getting rid of the tumors is through surgery. If all goes well, the surgeons will get rid of the growth at first attempt. There might not be a need for repeated chemotherapy and radiotherapy since all the infected cells can be removed in a single operation.
Benign Tumor Symptoms
Symptoms are hard to master especially if the tumor lies a distant from major nerves, organs or blood vessels. The first kind of symptoms to expect are bodily pains. The pain will be local to the affected region. If you are dealing with a brain tumor, expect constant headaches while fibroids will lead to pains in your womb.
The most common symptoms that cut across the table regardless of the tumor location include:
- Headaches
- Itchiness
- Hormonal syndromes
- Anaemia
Talking to your doctor once a scan turns positive on a tumor is the best way to identify the way forward. While some malignant tumors are ignorable, doctors will always advise on getting rid of the growth if you can. Benign tumors rarely respond to chemotherapy hence you will have to undergo some form of intrusive surgery. This is always the best way out especially if the tumor is in an operable part of the body.