Brain tumour symptoms: Five bizarre cancer warning signs revealed

Common symptoms of brain tumours include crippling headaches, seizures and nausea. 

But there are other lesser-known signs that you may have a potentially cancerous mass growing within your brain.

This can include hearing voices and excessive growth spurts.

Brain tumours kill more children and adults under the age of 40 than any other cancer, according to the Brain Tumour Research charity. 

Here, MailOnline reveals five strange warning signs of a brain tumour. 

Loss of interest in hobbies 

Suddenly losing interest in your favourite hobby may be a warning sign of a brain tumour. 

One in three people with a brain tumour experience a personality change of some kind, according to The Brain Tumour Charity. 

This can be in the form of a loss of interest in a hobby.  

When a tumour grows in the brain, it can put pressure on healthy cells around it. 

If it develops in the frontal lobe, the area that controls emotions, personality and behaviour, you can even start acting strangely. 

A tumour on the pituitary gland can also cause personality changes such as depression and anxiety, says the charity Brain Tumour Research.

Dr Karen Noble, director of policy, research and innovation at Brain Tumour Research, said: ‘Brain tumours near the pituitary gland can cause some of the most surprising symptoms, such as extreme changes to personality, weight and physical size, or delays to puberty.

‘This is due to the tumour affecting the levels of hormones the gland produces.’ 

But it is important to catch these symptoms early. 

Only 40 per cent of brain cancer patients live more than a year after diagnosis and only 20 per cent survive five years, data suggests. 

Extreme growth spurts 

Tumours affecting the pituitary gland can also, in rare cases, cause extreme growth spurts in adults as well as children. 

Some tumours that affect the pituitary gland make hormones, according to Cancer Research. 

This production of hormones can cause growth spurts in young people.

But these growth spurts are not just in children, they can happen in adults too.  

This unusual surge in size can cause the hands, feet or even the lower jaw to grow in adults, experts say. 

Dr Noble said: ‘Early detection and treatment may avoid complications later on; however brain tumours are often misdiagnosed, which can delay this.

‘There are over 120 different types of brain tumour and the symptoms are numerous and varied – depending on where in the brain the tumour is positioned.’

Growth spurts can be a sign of a brain tumour on the pituitary gland. But these growth spurts are not just in children, they can happen in adults too. This unusual surge in size can cause the hands or feet to grow, experts say

Forgetfulness 

Forgetting to do everyday tasks like locking the door and turning off the oven are often seen as hallmark signs of Alzheimer’s.

But forgetfulness could also be a sign of a brain tumour. 

Because many areas of the brain work to store and recall different types of memories, it is hard to pinpoint how different brain tumours will affect people’s memory, according to The Brain Tumour Charity.  

The charity explains that forgetfulness is more likely to be experienced if the tumour is in the frontal or temporal lobes of the brain, where memories are stored. 

As many as one in two people experience memory difficulties caused by a brain tumour, but it can also be brought on by its treatment. 

A decline in mental ability and confusion are also symptoms of a brain tumour in this part of the brain. 

Experts warn these symptoms may come and go initially before getting worse.  

Blurry vision

Getting blurred vision or sight that comes and goes, even when you are wearing your glasses, could be a sign of a brain tumour. 

If the brain tumour puts pressure on the optic nerve, your vision can be drastically affected, experts say.  

You may even notice your start to get more clumsy and bump into things, especially if you lose your sight out of the corners of your eyes. 

It could make you knock into objects on your left or right side if you lose your prereferral vision.  

If the brain tumour puts pressure on the optic nerve, your vision can be drastically affected, experts say. As well as blurred or double vision, you may also experience blurry vision that triggered by coughing, sneezing or even just bending down

Blurred vison, floating shapes and tunnel vison can also be signs of a brain tumour, according to Cancer Research. 

As well as blurred or double vision, you may also experience blurry vision that triggered by coughing, sneezing or even just bending down. 

However, these eye and vision related symptoms, if they come on suddenly, could also be caused by a blood clot or meningitis, so the charity Brain Tumour Research recommends seeking medical advice urgently. 

Dr Noble said: ‘Regular eye tests can sometimes detect eye problems that indicate the presence of a brain tumour before any symptoms become obvious.’ 

Hearing voices

Hallucinating voices and hearing random sounds can sometimes indicate a mental health condition. 

But it could also be a brain tumour. 

Auditory hallucinations, as they are known, can be caused by brain tumours that are both cancerous and benign.

These hallucinations can happen if the tumour is located in the temporal lobe, the part of the brain which processes sound, understands language and encodes memory. 

It can also happen if the tumour is pressed against a nerve which sends signals from the ear to the brain. 

A tumour here can also cause difficulty with hearing and speaking, according to Cancer Research. 

Dr Nobel said: ‘Devastatingly, as well as all this uncertainty, those diagnosed with a brain tumour also usually face a very bleak prognosis. Just 12 per cent of patients live beyond five years.’  

The NHS advises anyone who experiences hallucinations that make you see, hear, smell, taste or feel things that appear real but are not, to seek medical help.