The American Cancer Society estimates that 18,300 Americans will be diagnosed with .
malignant brain, spinal cord and other nervous system tumors in 2003. Approximately .
13,100 people in the United States will die from brain, spinal cord, and other nervous .
system tumors in 2003. Brain and spinal cord tumors occur most often in children younger .
than 10 years of age, whereas in adults, these tumors are most common in the third to fifth .
decades of life. Brain tumors form because, the body normally forms new cells only when .
they are needed to replace old or damaged ones. If something happens to disturb this .
controlled process, abnormal or excessive cells are produced. When this occurs a tumor is .
developed. This is known as cancer. When a tumor is developed on the brain, it is called a .
brain tumor or brain cancer. Brain tumors can be benign or malignant (benign being not .
cancerous and malignant being cancerous). Both types can be deadly when dealing with the .
brain. Benign brain tumors consist of very slow growing cells. They have distinct borders .
and rarely spread to other locations. When viewed under a microscope, the cells of a .
benign tumor have an almost normal appearance. Even though these tumors sound .
harmless they can be life-threatening when located in such a vital area. Since the skull is .
unable to expand when the tumor grows it puts' pressure on the brain. This results in .
damaged brain tissues and if left untreated a person could die. A malignant tumor is a .
tumor that could potentially invade and destroy important tissues and cells. They can also .
spread to other parts of the body. Brain tumors can initially start in the brain. They can .
also spread to other parts of the body from the brain but this rarely happens. Some tumors .
may be worse than others. Tumor staging is used to determine the extent of cancer. The .
stage indicates if the cancer has spread and how far. The stages are listed below: T = .
