Metastatic Cancer of the Spine –

Overview

This is when cancer spreads to your spine from somewhere else in your body. It can form one or more tumors. It may invade healthy bone and tissues. And it may spread throughout your spine.

Causes

What causes metastatic cancer? All cancer begins as a problem with a cell’s genetic code. This problem causes the cell to grow and divide abnormally. We say this abnormal cell is a “cancer”cell, and a clump of these cells is a “tumor.” Sometimes, cancer cells spread through the bloodstream or lymphatic system. When this happens, we say the cancer has “metastasized.” And in many cases, a cancer that has metastasized is the type of cancer that tends to invade healthy tissues. Metastatic cancer of the spine often begins as lung cancer, prostate cancer or breast cancer.

Symptoms

What are the symptoms? Well, you can have a wide range of symptoms, depending on where the cancer is growing. It’s common to have back and neck pain. But if a tumor is pressing on your spinal cord or on nerve roots, you can have other symptoms,too. You could have bowel or bladder issues. You could have difficulty walking. You could have numbness, tingling or even paralysis. And overtime, your spine can begin to collapse.

Treatment

How do we treat it? There are many options. These include things like medications, chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery. In some cases, we may want to wait while we watch the cancer closely.Your doctor will create a plan that’s right for you.