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Brain Tumor Care

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Brain Tumor Care

If you have a brain tumor, you’re likely facing many emotions and have many questions.

The brain tumor doctors at Baptist Health have the expertise to find the right treatment for you.

We offer the latest treatment technologies and medical therapies. And our neurosurgeons work with specialists at Baptist Health Cancer Care to ensure your treatment is tailored to your specific tumor type, needs and preferences.

Our Approach to Brain Tumor Care

Our Approach to Brain Tumor Care

When you come to Baptist Health for brain tumor care, you can expect:

  • A team dedicated to finding the precise treatment for you
  • Seamless collaboration between a variety of specialists, all with the goal of providing more personalized and effective care plan
  • Access to the latest therapies for brain tumors, including many experimental treatments and clinical trials not yet widely available

What Are Brain and Skull Base Tumors?

A brain tumor is a growth of cells in or near the brain. Brain tumors can be benign (noncancerous) or malignant (cancerous).

A skull base tumor is a type of brain tumor that forms at the base of the skull, or the part of the skull where the brain rests. Some skull base tumors form in the nasal sinuses, the pituitary gland or in nerves around the skull.

Some brain tumors can be difficult to treat. Our team understands the complexities of brain tumor treatment and takes a precise and personalized approach to your care.

Types of Brain Tumors We Treat

At Baptist Health Brain & Spine Care, we treat both benign and malignant adult brain tumors.

Our team has expertise in treating primary and secondary brain tumors. Primary brain tumors are brain tumors that begin in the brain.

Secondary brain tumors are brain tumors that form from cancer cells that have traveled from another part of the body.

Specific brain tumor types we treat include:

How Are Brain Tumors Diagnosed?

Our team uses advanced diagnostic testing and imaging to diagnose brain tumors. These tests include:

We also use many other tests to diagnose brain tumors, determine how a tumor affects brain function and begin treatment planning. Our team may also perform a tumor biopsy to make an exact diagnosis. A biopsy involves removing cells from the tumor to examine under a microscope.

How Are Brain Tumors Treated at Baptist Health?

When you come to Baptist Health for brain tumor treatment, you have a team working on your behalf.

Our Tumor Board meets weekly to discuss new patient cases. During these meetings, specialists from all areas of neuroscience and cancer care come together to determine the right treatment plan for you.

We aim to find the safest and best treatment option for your specific tumor type. That may mean a more aggressive approach with surgery. Or, we may recommend a less-invasive approach using chemotherapy, radiation therapy or a combination.

Our close collaboration with Baptist Health Cancer Care allows us to seamlessly coordinate every step of your treatment.

Treatment options we offer include:

  • Chemotherapy involves the use of drugs to kill cancer cells or stop their growth. In brain tumor treatment, chemotherapy can be administered orally or through an IV.

  • Neurosurgery is a surgical procedure to treat brain tumors. During neurosurgery, doctors remove all or part of the tumor mass while preserving healthy brain tissue. Neurosurgical procedures we offer include endoscopic surgery, fluorescence-guided surgery and 4D endonasal surgery. We also offer traditional and awake craniotomies.

    During a craniotomy, neurosurgeons open the skull and access the brain to remove your tumor. During an awake craniotomy, you are given medication so that you don’t feel pain, but you remain awake and alert. This allows neurosurgeons to determine the impact of the procedure on specific brain functions. Our team will do everything possible to avoid incisions on the face. If open surgery is necessary, we strive to keep all incisions behind your hairline.

    If you need neurosurgery for your brain tumor, our team will use intraoperative MRI or intraoperative CT during your procedure. This allows our specially trained experts to track brain function during surgery. This monitoring also gives neurosurgeons the ability to re-scan your head, neck and brain to assess whether the entire tumor has been removed, or if more surgery is needed to remove any remaining tumor.

    Most patients stay in the hospital for two to five days after brain surgery. Recovery from surgery will depend on the type of brain tumor you have and its location within the brain or skull base. Your recovery will include pain management and may also include some neurorehabilitation, such as physical therapy, occupational therapy or speech therapy.

  • Radiation therapy uses high-energy beams to kill cancer cells or stop their growth. Doctors often use radiation therapy after surgery or as the primary treatment for people who cannot have surgery. Our team offers many radiation therapy treatments, including external beam radiation and proton therapy.

  • Radiosurgery is a form of radiation therapy doctors use to deliver a high dose of radiation to a specific target within the brain. Our team offers the latest radiosurgery treatments, including Gamma Knife® and CyberKnife® radiosurgery.

  • During targeted drug therapy, doctors use drugs or other substances that specifically target certain molecules or pathways involved in the growth and survival of cancer cells.

Pituitary Tumor Program

At Baptist Health, we understand the complexities of pituitary tumor treatment. Our pituitary tumor program includes a team of specialists highly skilled in diagnosing and treating pituitary tumors. Please visit our pituitary tumor program page to learn more.

Brain Tumor Research

Brain Tumor Research

Our team works closely with experts at Baptist Health Cancer Care on a wide range of clinical trials for brain tumor treatment. Talk to your doctor or view our list of active trials to learn more about brain tumor research.

Meet Our Brain Tumor Specialists

Our brain tumor care team includes neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuro-oncologists, radiation oncologists, head and neck surgeons, plastic surgeons, and advanced practice providers and nurses from across Baptist Health Brain & Spine Care and Baptist Health Cancer Care.

Neurosurgeons

Neuro-Oncologists

Radiation Oncologists

Our Locations

Cerebrovascular care is available throughout Miami-Dade and Palm Beach Counties. Find a location near you.

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