The symptoms of spinal cancer are varied, and pain is one of the most common symptoms due to the pressure of spinal cord tumors on the nerves, which may cause back pain or neck pain, depending on the type of cancer.
The symptoms of spinal cancer differ from one patient to another, depending on the patient’s age, location and type of cancer, and whether it is metastatic or primary cancer, and the common symptoms of spinal cancer are pain, which may be due to the presence of cancer in the vertebrae or because of its pressure on the spinal cord, nerves or nerve roots, And if the appearance Symptoms of malignant spinal tumors It may happen very slowly or very quickly, within days or even hours, especially in metastatic cancers that lead to the emergence of Early symptoms of spine cancer.
In this article, we will learn about the most important symptoms of spine cancer, how they occur, and what it is and its most essential types. What are the symptoms of spine cancer in women?
Information about spinal cancer
To understand how the symptoms of spinal cancer occur, it is necessary to know the anatomy of the spine and the definition of cancer. The spine forms the main support for the upper part of the human body and is part of the skeletal structure. The skull to the coccygeal vertebrae and the spinal cord is located inside the spine.
Spinal cancer is an abnormal growth of cells in or around the spine or spinal cord. Cancer may arise from the spine directly, called primary spinal cancer, or spread from another area of the body to the spine, called metastatic spine cancer.
The symptoms of spine cancer are many and different. Some symptoms of spine cancer may include bladder control disorders, muscle weakness, or the appearance of several back pains, because the symptoms of spine cancer depend on the type of cancer, the severity of its malignancy, and its location, as well as on the size of the cancer in the spine or in the spinal cord. Cancer is small and does not cause obvious symptoms because it does not press on nearby tissues such as the spinal cord or nerve roots and nerves. Pain is one of the most common symptoms of spinal cancer or other symptoms. Benign tumors of the spine.
Types of spine cancer
You must know the types of spinal tumors or bone cancer in the vertebrae in order to know the severity of the symptoms of spine cancer. The types of back cancer are:
- Chondrosarcoma: a type of chondrosarcoma Bone cancer It forms in cartilage and is an uncommon cancer.
- Chordoma: It is a malignant bone tumor that arises anywhere along the spine, but it usually appears at the bottom of the spine in the sacrum region.
- Ewing sarcoma: A type of cancer that affects the bones and surrounding soft tissues and is rare in adults.
- Lymphoma: It is also called primary non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or extraneous lymphoma. This type affects cells of the immune system and lymph nodes. It is usually metastatic and rarely primary.
- Multiple myeloma: It is a type of blood cancer that affects plasma cells in the blood, and it often affects the spine.
- Osteosarcoma: This type affects the bones and weakens them, but it is most common in the femur or leg bone.
Read more about: Osteosarcoma treatment
Symptoms of spine cancer
Symptoms of spinal cancer vary according to the type of tumor and its location in the back, but back pain is one of the most common symptoms. Symptoms of spinal cancer are divided into early and late symptoms, according to the following:
Early symptoms of spine cancer
There are a group of symptoms of spine cancer that appear early that should not be neglected and a doctor should be reviewed because early diagnosis is of great importance in treatment, and the most important symptoms are:
- Spine and back pain. This pain is not related to the presence of a traumatic injury or stress to the spine. It may get worse when doing physical activity. It is the most common symptom of spinal cancer.
- neck pain
- arm pain
- leg pain
- Back pain that does not respond to conservative treatment or medication Bone pain treatment or
- Numbness or tingling in the legs or arms and muscle weakness
- Poor control of bowel and bladder function
- Decreased sensation of heat and cold, as well as pain
Symptoms of advanced spine cancer
when it is neglected back cancer symptoms Early onset cancer risks and symptoms increase, and spine cancer is more difficult to treat Symptoms of advanced spine cancer she:
- Difficulty walking and falling to the ground
- Abnormalities of the spine or back, such as: scoliosis or cams
- Paralysis, which affects parts of the body to varying degrees, according to the compressed nerves
My experience with spine cancer
Maria, a back cancer patient who suffered from symptoms of spinal cancer, recounts her experience that she felt a slight pain on the left side in the upper back area, and the back pain made her feel uncomfortable, then she returned as it was, and with the passage of time, the back pain became more severe and frequent, and she ignored the patient Pain despite symptoms of spinal cancer in women.
One day, the patient fell to her knee and felt dizzy, as well as pain in her upper back. When she visited the hospital, a tumor was detected in the spine through CT scan and positron emission tomography, which is also used to detect the presence of pelvic and spinal cancer. Additional tests were performed and the size of the tumor was determined. And its location close to the heart, which is dangerous for surgical work.
With the increase in the symptoms of back cancer in women, the patient underwent treatment for spine cancer with radiation, and after completing her treatment, she had an MRI scan to determine the size of the back tumors.
At the end of the article, we conclude that the most common symptom of spinal cancer is pain, which varies in severity from one patient to another according to the severity, size, and type of cancer, and that back pain is caused by tumors in the spine or by compression of the spinal cord or nerve roots and nerves. Spinal deformity is a late symptom of spinal cancer.
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Common questions
Spinal cancer rarely spreads outside the spine, but it can be life-threatening because it presses on the tissues of the spinal cord and causes serious damage.
Spinal tumors, in addition to back pain, can lead to paralysis. Sometimes paralysis is a late symptom of spinal cancer.
The patient's survival time varies according to the type of cancer, but in general, the average life of a patient with spinal cancer is 10 months.
There are many symptoms that indicate spinal cancer, and the most important symptoms of spine cancer are pain, broken bones, paralysis, and poor bladder and bowel control.
The symptoms and signs of bone tumors are bone pain that gets worse with time, frequent fractures, andosteomyelitis, and a noticeable mass over the affected bone.
