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An estimated 700,000 Americans are living with some type of a brain tumor and an estimated 86,970 people will receive a primary brain tumor diagnosis in 2019. A brain tumor is an abnormal mass of tissue in which cells grow and multiply uncontrollably. There are more than 150 different types of brain tumors, but the two main groups are termed primary or metastatic.

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• Primary brain tumors originate from the tissues of the brain and are either benign (noncancerous) or malignant (made of cancer cells).

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• Metastatic brain tumors arise elsewhere in the body (such as the breast or lungs) and migrate to the brain, usually through the bloodstream. Metastatic tumors are considered cancer. Metastatic brain tumors affect nearly one in four patients with cancer, or an estimated 150,000 people a year.

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For malignant (cancerous) brain tumors, the average survival rate for patients is 35% (33.8% for men and 36.4% for women). Compare this to an average 5-year survival rate of 90% for breast cancer and 56% for lung cancer. An estimated 16,830 people will die from malignant brain tumors (brain cancer) in 2019. Source: National Brain Tumor Society.

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The survival rate for benign (non-cancerous) tumors is much higher. In the news recently, the actor Mark Ruffalo was diagnosed with a type of brain tumor known as an acoustic neuroma and had surgery; the tumor was benign but resulted in a period of partial facial paralysis. An acoustic neuroma (vestibular schwannoma) is a benign tumor that develops on the balance (vestibular) and hearing, or auditory (cochlear) nerves leading from your inner ear to the brain.

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Ravi H. Gandhi is a board-certified neurosurgeon who is fellowship trained in Cerebrovascular, Endovascular, and Skull Base Neurosurgery. Current areas of interests include traditional and minimally invasive methods of treating complex brain and skull base diseases such as brain tumors, trigeminal neuralgia, and acoustic neuromas. Dr. Gandhi practices at Orlando Neurosurgery, with four offices in Central Florida, Lake Mary, Winter Garden, Winter Park and Oviedo. Dr. Gandhi is a medical director and part of an elite neurosurgical team at the AdventHealth Neuroscience Institute.