In recent years, the occurrence of brain tumors has been on the rise. In the United States alone, someone dies from a brain tumor every 20 minutes. 186,000 people were diagnosed with one in 2002. An NIH study of 1,000 healthy, asymptomatic volunteers revealed three brain tumors, about forty times the natural incidence. In a population of one million people, one would expect about 100 gliomas. The NIH study suggests there are 3,000.

Unfortunately, many of these tumors will be detected too late, after symptoms appear. It is much easier and safer to remove a small tumor than a large one. About 60 percent of glioblastomas start out as a lower-grade tumor. But small tumors become big tumors. Low-grade gliomas become high-grade gliomas. Once symptoms appear, it is generally too late to treat the tumor. Many gliomas in particular are incurable once they become symptomatic. At that point, neurosurgery often can only expand life expectancy, not cure the patient.

Early detection and complete removal is the best, if not only, proven method of treating deadly tumor growth.

But how do we find brain tumors earlier? You cannot feel a brain tumor as you can a breast tumor. We need mammography for the brain, and that means MRI. The Brain Tumor Foundation proposes a program of low-cost, screening MRIs to detect brain tumors earlier.

We have grown accustomed to regular checks for breast, colon, prostate and many other cancers. Why not brain cancer?

MRI Brainscans are now available for $169 in Manhattan – cheaper than a mammogram. And unlike the much-publicized full-body scans, brain scans emit no radiation. They are also painless, non-invasive and take ten minutes or less. Furthermore, brain scans are focused only on the brain, narrowing the search for potentially dangerous irregularities and reducing the risk of detecting abnormalities that turn out to be harmless.

The only way to "cure" a cancer is to find and treat it early – before symptoms arise. Before it is too late.