Understanding Your Meningioma Diagnosis

When you receive a diagnosis that includes the term “brain tumor,” the news can be worrisome.

Before you hit the panic button, we want to share some important information about meningiomas, which are the most common type of primary brain tumor and account for 30% of all brain tumors.

You’ve certainly come to the right place if you’re looking for a practice devoted to neurology and brain health. At Gill Neuroscience, Dr. Paul Gill and our team have the training and experience you want to navigate diagnosis and treatment of a meningioma brain tumor.

As the news of your meningioma diagnosis settles in, keep some key points in mind.

Meningiomas are mostly benign and slow growing

The first point we want to make is that meningiomas are mostly benign, which means they are not cancerous.

Meningiomas form in protective tissues around your brain called meninges, which are found between your brain and your skull. 

You have three layers of meninges, and meningiomas typically form in the middle layer. They can start out small and exist for years before you’re even aware of them, as meningiomas tend to grow slowly.

There are rarer meningiomas that are malignant (cancerous), and these tend to grow and spread quickly.

There are different types of meningiomas

Your meningeal tissues surround your whole brain, so meningiomas can develop in different places, such as:

• Convexity meningiomas that grow directly under the skull
• Intraventricular meningiomas that form where cerebrospinal fluid is made
• Sphenoid wing meningiomas that grow behind the eyes
• Petrous meningiomas that form on the underside of the brain
• Olfactory groove meningiomas around the nose
• Suprasellar meningiomas, which grow at the base of the skull

This list isn’t complete, but it gives you an idea of the many different types of meningiomas.

Meningioma symptoms

We’re not going to spend too much time on symptoms, as you’ve already been dealing with them and you already have a diagnosis. Besides, symptoms from a meningioma vary greatly, depending on which area of the skull and brain the tumor forms in.

Treating meningiomas

As you might imagine, treatment options for meningiomas depend on many things, such as severity of symptoms. For example, if your symptoms aren't disruptive and you’re functioning well, we may take a wait-and-see approach.

If you are experiencing symptoms, treatment options can include:

• Surgery to remove the brain tumor
• Radiosurgery, or Gamma Knife®
• Radiation therapy
• Chemotherapy, which is only used for rare and malignant tumors

The road that lies ahead for you and your meningioma diagnosis is one that we can sit down and discuss together. Please know that the one-year survival rate of patients with meningioma is more than 93%, which should ease your mind a little.

You’re in excellent hands with Dr. Gill and our team, and we’ll make sure to address all of your concerns along the way.

For expert treatment of your meningioma or for any questions you might have, please feel free to call our office in Houston, Texas, at 832-912-7777, or use our online form to request an appointment.