What symptoms do brain tumor patients usually come in with and will a ct suffice when looking for a tumor?

Brain Tumors : Symptoms vary from headache to the new onset of a seizure disorder. Patients may also experience subtle mental status changes, double vision, numbness and tingling in an extremity, and a variety of other complaints. A ct scan is a very good place to start and your neurologist might well order this study first after a through neurological exam.

Seizure and headache: Patients frequently present to hospital following an epileptic seizure. They typically complain of unilateral nonthrobbing headaches for some period of time and/or motor weakness that was not of abrupt onset and has progressed. Symptoms are related to the area of brain affected. Ct of the head frequently shows the surrounding edema, mri+gad provides greater clarity and can assist in diagnosis.

MRI after ct: If there is a true suspicion for a tumor then an MRI will be the best to image the detailed shape and character of the tumor. Some types, like meningiomas, can even b diagnosed just by how they appear on mri. Ct with contrast is a quicker scan which can also evaluate whether or not there is blood flow or bleeding in the brain. This can rule out a lot of problems without requiring an mri. Md 1st.