GPs Talk Cancer

Brain Tumours – "Only between 1 and 3 per cent of them will only have a headache."

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Episode notes

Professor Catherine McBain joins our GP hosts Rebecca and Sarah to discuss how to spot brain tumours earlier in primary care. Professor McBain is a Consultant Clinical Oncologist at the Christie NHS Foundation Trust and the Greater Manchester Cancer Lead for Brain and CNS. Our experts mention the importance of headaches plus an increase in the severity and frequency of other symptoms such as cognitive changes like increased anxiety, fatigue, changes in speech and forgetfulness. Physical symptoms like weakness in the arm or legs, incoordination and peripheral visual field loss are also explored. They also discuss intracranial pressure, drowsiness, and how to distinguish between headaches and tumour-related headaches. 


You can access the guidelines and studies referenced here. 


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GPs Talk Cancer is the podcast series from GatewayC. GatewayC is the free early cancer diagnosis resource funded by the NHS and is part of The Christie NHS Foundation Trust. 


Produced by Louise Harbord from GatewayC, and Jo Newsholme from Rethink Audio.


DISCLAIMER: We know this podcast might be of interest to anybody, however it is aimed at primary care health professionals. All patient cases are based on real stories from our clinical practice as GPs. They are fully anonymised with no identifiable patient data. All featured statistics are accurate at the time of recording. All views expressed by guest speakers are their own. 



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