You begin having headaches. It goes on for a while and seems far too chronic to be something like dehydration. Eventually, doctors discover that you have a brain tumor.
They advise you to get treatment right away, and you agree with them. What you’re wondering is what type of treatment they will use.
Generally, they weigh three different options: chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery. They may use a combination of all three.
Their preference, in most cases, is to do surgery. They can often get rid of the entire tumor in this fashion, and they do not have to subject other brain tissue to the harsh realities of radiation treatment or chemo. Even if they cannot get 100% of the tumor through surgery, they may start there and attempt to remove as much they can. Excising 75% does not solve the problem fully, but it drastically reduces its size, which can help when following the surgery up with chemo or radiation therapy.
Surgery is not always possible, of course. The brain is very fragile. Depending on where the tumor is located, doctors may have no way to take it out without causing you permanent, irreversible damage. In a case like this, they will forgo surgery and utilize other methods of treatment.
What this means is that you must have a competent medical professional presiding over your care. If they make a mistake during surgery or while deciding what type of treatment is the safest option, it can have dire ramifications, and you need to know what legal options you have.