Jun 14, 2026 · 22 min · 8 segments
Brain tumours are rare, but the gaps around them reveal something much bigger about modern cancer care. In this episode, we unpack why brain tumours are still so often diagnosed in crisis, with…
A brain tumor is, at its core, a growth of abnormal cells in the brain.
Yeah.
And the briefing notes there are actually over 100 different types.
Over 100.
Wow.
Yeah, but the focus today is on primary brain tumors, meaning they originate in the brain tissue itself.
Right, rather than like spreading there from a cancer in another part of the body.
Precisely.
And they are graded on a scale from one to four.
Okay, let's untack this because the grading system dictates everything, doesn't it?
Everything.
It dictates exactly how a patient is treated.
Grades one and two are classified as low grade.
So meaning they grow slower.
Yeah.
Biologically, their cells look closer to normal cells and they do tend to grow slowly.
Grades three and four are high grade.
The aggressive ones.
Exactly.
The cells look highly abnormal.
They grow very fast.
They are much harder to treat and they have a significantly higher chance of returning after surgery.
But there's a massive point of confusion here when it comes to the terminology used for those slower, lower grades.
I noticed this in the briefing, and honestly, it fundamentally changed how I view this disease.
The word benign.
A brain tumor is, at its core, a growth of abnormal cells in the brain.
Yeah.
And the briefing notes there are actually over 100 different types.
Over 100.
Wow.
Yeah, but the focus today is on primary brain tumors, meaning they originate in the brain tissue itself.
Right, rather than like spreading there from a cancer in another part of the body.
Precisely.
And they are graded on a scale from one to four.
Okay, let's untack this because the grading system dictates everything, doesn't it?
Everything.
It dictates exactly how a patient is treated.
Grades one and two are classified as low grade.
So meaning they grow slower.
Yeah.
Biologically, their cells look closer to normal cells and they do tend to grow slowly.
Grades three and four are high grade.
The aggressive ones.
Exactly.
The cells look highly abnormal.
They grow very fast.
They are much harder to treat and they have a significantly higher chance of returning after surgery.
But there's a massive point of confusion here when it comes to the terminology used for those slower, lower grades.
I noticed this in the briefing, and honestly, it fundamentally changed how I view this disease.
The word benign.
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