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Spinal tumors are tumors that appear on the spine or surrounding tissue, such as the spinal cord. These tumors usually look like a lump and can cause a variety of symptoms. Proper handling needs to be done from an early age to prevent the tumor from becoming malignant.

Tumors are diseases that occur when cells in certain tissues or organs in the body grow excessively and uncontrollably, thus damaging the healthy parts of the body around them. Some tumors are benign, but some are malignant (cancer).

Unlike cancer, benign tumors tend not to spread to other parts of the body and grow more slowly. However, if not treated early, some types of tumors can turn malignant. Tumors can also grow in any body tissue, including the spine.

There are many types of tumors that can appear on the spine, including:

• Osteochondroma
• Osteosarcoma and Ewing Sarcoma
• Osteoblastoma
• Ependymoma and meningioma
• Schwannoma and neurofibroma
• Multiple myeloma

Causes of spinal tumors

Until now, the cause of a person having a spinal tumor is still not known for sure. However, there are several factors that are known to increase a person's risk of developing a spinal tumor, including:

• Heredity
• Exposure to radiation and carcinogens
• Autoimmune diseases, such as multiple sclerosis
• Genetic disorders, such as neurofibromatosis 2 and Hippel-Lindau disease

In addition, spinal tumors also often arise as a result of moving tumor cells from other parts of the body. The process of moving tumor cells from their original place is called metastasis. Such tumor conditions can occur in patients with stage 4 cancer, for example in breast cancer, lung cancer, and prostate cancer.

Some Spinal Tumor Symptoms

Spinal tumors in the early stages are generally asymptomatic. These tumor symptoms usually appear only when tumor cells grow larger and begin to damage the spinal tissue or surrounding structures, such as nerves or nerve pads.

There are several symptoms of a tumor in the spine, including:

• A lump appears on the back or around the spine.
• Back pain that radiates to other parts of the body, such as the legs, thighs or arms
• Neck pain and stiffness
• Weakness or even paralysis of limbs, such as arms and legs
• Tingling or numbness in the back
• Interference with urinating or defecating
• Loss of bowel or bladder function
• Change in the shape of the spine in the form of scoliosis

Pain from spinal tumors can get worse when the sufferer lies down, strains, or coughs. In men, spinal tumors can also cause erectile dysfunction.

The symptoms of a spinal tumor can often mimic many other diseases or medical conditions, such as pinched nerves (HNP), back or spinal cord injuries, and spinal tuberculosis. Therefore, to confirm the diagnosis, a thorough medical examination from a doctor is required.

To diagnose spinal tumors, doctors generally will perform a physical examination and supporting examinations, such as X-rays, ultrasound, MRI, CT scan, biopsy, and tumor marker tests.

How to treat spinal tumors

The goal of spinal tumor treatment is to remove the tumor without damaging the spinal cord and surrounding nerves. In addition, treatment of spinal tumors is also important to prevent the spread of tumor cells to other body tissues.

The following are some of the treatment methods doctors can use to treat spinal tumors:

1. Operation

Spinal surgery is generally performed to remove tumor tissue that grows on the spine. However, sometimes residual tumor cells still remain in the spinal cord after surgery is performed.

Therefore, the surgical step is usually combined with other treatment methods, such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy, to remove the remaining tumor cells in the spine.

2. Radiation therapy

Radiation therapy or radiotherapy is generally used to remove residual tumors that cannot be completely removed surgically.

In addition, this therapy is also performed to treat tumors that cannot be operated on or if the surgical step is considered high risk and can cause complications, such as paralysis or numbness due to nerve damage.

3. Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is one of the standard treatment methods for many types of cancer, including spinal tumors. However, chemotherapy can often cause side effects, such as fatigue, nausea, vomiting, pain, infection, and hair loss.

4. Physiotherapy

Physiotherapy methods are generally performed after the patient begins to recover from surgery and has completed chemotherapy or radiation therapy.

Physiotherapy can help patients get back on their feet, improve their ability to carry out daily physical activities, and support the recovery process after spinal tumor treatment.

Back tumor is a rare disease. However, if left untreated, spinal tumors can become more difficult to treat and even have a higher risk of causing permanent spinal cord damage.

Therefore, you need to be vigilant if you experience the symptoms of spinal tumors that have been mentioned earlier. If you feel these symptoms, you should immediately consult a doctor so that examination and treatment can be done early on.

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