A brain tumor can feel like many other medical conditions and may cause a variety of symptoms. Brain tumors can be cancerous or non-cancerous and may not initially cause symptoms.
The most common symptoms of a brain tumor include headaches, dizziness, seizures, or vision changes. The effects can vary based on the size of the tumor and its location. However, most of these symptoms are very common and can be due to other less serious conditions. A brain tumor can be diagnosed with brain imaging.
This article describes brain tumor signs and what a brain tumor feels like.
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How Common Brain Tumor Symptoms Feel
A brain tumor can cause many different symptoms based on the location in the brain and the effects of the tumor—such as swelling or bleeding. General symptoms, such as dizziness and headaches, occur due to increased pressure in and around the brain.
Common symptoms of a brain tumor can include:
- Positional headaches: The headaches may worsen with movement, especially when you lie down.
- Seizures: Symptoms can begin with jerking and stiffening on one side of the body.
- Weakness or sensory changes on one side of the body: These can be persistent or wax and wane as the swelling around the tumor fluctuates.
- Slurred speech: You may have slurring of your speech, as well as difficulty chewing and swallowing if a tumor grows near areas of the brain that control your mouth and tongue movements.
- Aphasia: This condition is characterized by difficulty understanding other people’s speech, difficulty using the right words when you’re trying to speak, or unusual speech rhythm. Aphasia is caused by damage to the regions of the brain that control speech, which are usually located in the parietal and temporal lobes on the opposite side of your dominant hand.
- Impaired coordination: You may have trouble maintaining your balance while you’re walking, or you could have trouble coordinating physical actions, such as eating.
- Vision changes: Blurred vision or seeing spots or shapes that aren’t there can occur with a brain tumor in any area of the brain, particularly the occipital cortex, which is in the back of the brain.
- A visual field cut: A brain tumor that’s pressing on any part of the visual pathway in your brain can cause loss of vision on one side of both eyes (such as the lower left side of both eyes).
- Nystagmus: Involuntary jerking of the eyes can occur as part of a seizure, or can develop due to pressure on the nerves in your brain that control eye movements.
- Dizziness, lightheadedness: A tumor in any region of the brain can cause these symptoms, which can intermittently worsen or improve if the tumor grows, swells, or bleeds.
- Confusion, personality changes: A tumor in any region of the brain can cause these symptoms, but this effect is particularly likely if you have a brain tumor in the frontal lobe.
If a brain tumor grows or spreads throughout the brain, or if there are multiple brain tumors—new symptoms may emerge.
A Word From Verywell
Tension-type headaches are one of the most common types of headaches, and they are not related to a brain tumor. Every person’s pain experience is unique, but headaches associated with brain tumors tend to be constant and are worse at night or in the early morning.
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How Brain Tumor Headaches Feel
Headaches are very common, and most people experience headaches from time to time. Most headaches are not related to brain tumors. However, a brain tumor in any region of the brain can cause a headache.
Headaches caused by a brain tumor may be dull, persistent, and often recur after pain medication wears off.
Additionally, a headache that’s caused by a brain tumor may feel more painful with changes in movement. It can get worse when you’re lying down, and you can feel some relief as you sit up. Sometimes these headaches feel worse if you’re lying on one side versus another.
A brain tumor headache may also be associated with vomiting or blurred vision. The vomiting that’s associated with the brain tumor is due to pressure in the brain and is often described as severe projectile vomiting, usually not associated with nausea.
What is the incidence of brain tumors and brain cancer?
When a tumor starts in the brain, it is called a primary brain tumor. The Central Brain Tumor Registry of the United States reported in 2023 that the age-adjusted annual incidence rate of all primary malignant and non-malignant brain and other CNS tumors was 24.83 per 100,000 population for the five-year period from 2016 to 2020. Almost 28% were malignant and 72% non-malignant. The incidence rate is how many people are diagnosed with the condition in a year.
Brain and other nervous system cancer are the 16th most common type of cancer in the United States. According to the National Cancer Institute, there were about 182,520 people living with brain and other nervous system cancer in the United States in 2021. It is estimated that 18,760 people will die of brain or other nervous system cancer in 2024.
The National Cancer Institute estimates that approximately 0.6% (6 out of 1000) of adults will be diagnosed with brain and other nervous system cancer during their lifetime.
Seizures Due to a Brain Tumor
A brain tumor can cause a seizure or recurrent seizures, which can lead to a brain tumor diagnosis, especially if earlier signs and symptoms were subtle.
Seizures caused by a brain tumor can occur when the tumor is still very small and treatable or can start when the tumor spreads or enlarges.
Symptoms of a seizure caused by a brain tumor can include any of the following:
- Shaking, jerking, or stiffening of one side or both sides of the body
- Eye fluttering
- Staring into space and unresponsiveness lasting between a few seconds to a few minutes
- Facial twitching
- Lip smacking
Generally, recurrent seizures caused by a single brain tumor will cause the same symptoms every time. If there’s more than one tumor in the brain, they can each cause different seizure symptoms.
Brain tumor seizures are focal seizures, which begin in the region of the brain where the tumor is located. For example, a tumor in or near the location that controls movement of the right leg would start with shaking and jerking of the right leg—and can potentially spread to cause a generalized tonic seizure (movements of the whole body, with loss of consciousness).
Brain Tumor Symptoms Based on Location in the Brain
The symptoms of a brain tumor often correspond to the tumor location. However, some symptoms, such as headaches and dizziness, can be caused by a tumor in any location. If a tumor in the brain causes swelling, it may cause pressure throughout the brain and cause a variety of symptoms.
Sometimes a brain tumor may cause bleeding, or you could have more than one tumor in the brain, which may produce a range of effects.
Brain tumor symptoms based on location include:
- Tumors located in the areas of the brain that control movement may cause weakness in the corresponding area of the body, or they may cause seizures.
- A tumor in the frontal lobe of the brain may cause changes and behavior, personality, and judgment.
- A tumor in the occipital lobe may cause a visual field cut, which is vision loss in one area of both eyes (such as the upper left side of both eyes).
- A tumor in one of the language regions of the brain may cause difficulty speaking or understanding language.
- A tumor in or near the cerebellum could cause jerky movements and impaired coordination.
- The brainstem is a very small region of the brain that controls virtually every function of the body. A brainstem tumor may cause impaired coordination and movement, double vision, and nystagmus. Additionally, brainstem tumors can interfere with breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure, necessitating high-level medical support, such as a breathing tube.
A brain tumor in any location of the brain could cause a seizure, but seizures are more likely to result from brain tumors that are located in the frontal lobe of the brain.
Cerebrospinal Fluid Obstruction
A brain tumor can block cerebrospinal fluid flow in the brain, leading to a buildup of fluid called hydrocephalus, which can cause severe headaches, dizziness, and loss of consciousness. This condition is serious but treatable.
When to See a Healthcare Provider
It’s not possible to self-diagnose a brain tumor. If you have any concerns, call a healthcare provider to discuss your questions. You need to make an appointment if you have any neurological symptoms, like blurry vision, increasing headaches, numbness or tingling, or dizziness.
You need to get prompt medical attention by calling 911 or going to the emergency room if you or someone else have any of the following symptoms:
- Seizure in a person who has not previously had seizures
- The worst headache of your life
- Change in consciousness
- Weakness on one side or both sides of your body
- Difficulty speaking or communicating
- Slurred speech
- Vision changes
These symptoms can be caused by a brain tumor, stroke, epilepsy, or brain infection. It’s important that you get a prompt diagnosis and treatment.
Diagnostic Tests
Diagnostic tests for a suspected brain tumor will include a neurological exam and a vision exam. You will likely have a brain imaging test, such as brain computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), or positron emission tomography (PET).
You might also have an electroencephalogram (EEG) or a lumbar puncture. Often, imaging studies of the chest or abdomen can help determine whether the brain tumor is a primary brain tumor (started in the brain) or whether it is a metastasis from cancer somewhere else in the body.
Rarely, a biopsy may be performed to get a sample of the brain tumor tissue to be analyzed in the lab. More commonly, the tumor is fully removed during a surgical procedure and then analyzed in the lab. The results of the lab analysis will report the type of tumor and whether it is malignant.
Summary
A brain tumor may feel many different ways. Brain tumor symptoms, which include headaches, dizziness, weakness, vision changes, and personality changes, are usually caused by other less serious conditions.
If you experience any of the symptoms that are associated with a brain tumor, be sure to see a healthcare provider as soon as possible. If you have a new seizure or any change in consciousness, you should get prompt emergency medical attention.
If you are diagnosed with a brain tumor, know that it often can be effectively treated with surgery and medication. While recovery can take some time, many people are able to maintain an independent and healthy lifestyle after a brain tumor diagnosis.
