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Click on an icon to view.The doctor is the best person to describe the treatment choices and discuss the expected results. The doctor and patient should work together to develop a treatment plan that fits the patient's needs.
Depending on the type and extent of medulloblastoma, patients may have:
- Surgery (see Brain Cancer Surgery)
- Chemotherapy (see Brain Cancer and Chemotherapy)
- Radiation therapy (see Brain Cancer Radiation Treatment)
- Cerebrospinal fluid diversion
- A combination of methods.
Cerebrospinal fluid diversion is a method that is used to drain fluid that has built up around the brain and spinal cord. A shunt (long, thin tube) is placed in a ventricle (hollow space) of the brain and threaded under the skin to another part of the body, usually the abdomen. The shunt carries excess fluid away from the brain so that it may be absorbed elsewhere in the body.
In addition, at any stage, patients may receive treatment in order to:
- Control pain and other symptoms of the cancer
- Relieve the side effects of therapy
- Ease emotional problems.
This kind of treatment is called symptom management, supportive care, or palliative care.
(Click Medulloblastoma Treatment by Risk Group for more information.)
Before starting medulloblastoma treatment, patients may want to consider taking part in a clinical trial. A treatment clinical trial is a research study that is meant to help improve current treatments or obtain information on new treatments for patients with medulloblastoma. When clinical trials show that a new medulloblastoma treatment is better than the standard treatment, the new treatment may become the standard treatment.
(Click Brain Cancer Treatment for more information.)
Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD