Oncological diseases of the spine and its main structures can hardly be considered a rarity in medical practice. That is why many people are interested in information about what the symptoms of spinal cancer look like. After all, it's not a secret for anyone: the sooner treatment of the tumor is started, the greater the chances of recovery.
Main forms of the disease
As you know, tumors can be both primary and secondary (in this case, the neoplasm is only a metastasis, while the main focus of the disease is located in another organ). Before considering the main symptoms of spinal cancer, it is worth familiarizing yourself with its main forms:
- Extradural tumor located outside the spinal cord.
- Intradural neoplasms are placed under the dura mater and lead to compression of the spinal cord.
- An intramedullary tumor grows inside the spinal cord causing the spine to swell.
It is worth noting that the malignant process can occur in different tissues: bone, nerve, cartilage. Anywayan increase in the size of the neoplasm leads to compression of certain structures - the vertebrae and intervertebral discs, nerve roots and blood vessels are damaged, which explains the main symptoms of spinal cancer. In any case, in the absence of timely medical care, extremely serious complications appear, often leading to death.
Spine Cancer: Symptoms
Most often, such a disease develops slowly, year after year. Its main signs appear when the tumor begins to press hard on nearby structures. And one of the first symptoms is chronic weakness and fatigue. There may also be difficulty walking.
Quite often, cancerous lesions of the spine affect muscle tone - there is weakness, uncontrollable muscle spasms, pain in the legs and back, which cannot be stopped with conventional analgesics.
In the future, patients complain of numbness of the lower extremities, tingling and burning of the skin. If the tumor touches the nerve roots, then the normal functioning of the organs that they innervate is disrupted. For example, enuresis and fecal incontinence are also symptoms of spinal cancer.
If left untreated, partial or complete paralysis develops, depending on the location and size of the affected area.
Spine cancer treatment
With such a disease, only complex therapy is used,which includes several methods at once. If the tumor has grown so much that it interferes with the normal functioning of the body, it must be removed surgically. Unfortunately, such operations are associated with risks, since there is a high probability of damage to he althy nerve roots. However, modern equipment reduces the risk of postoperative injuries. In addition, even after surgery, an additional course of radiation or chemotherapy is prescribed, since otherwise it is simply impossible to clear the spine of all malignant cells.
