Spinal cancer is perhaps one of the most frightening forms of cancer there is. It happens when abnormal, cancerous tissue attacks the cells in the spinal cord and base of the brain. The spinal cord is usually about 18 inches long and less than an inch wide. When a tumor begins to develop in the spinal cord, symptoms begin to appear very quickly. Unfortunately there are no benign spinal cord tumors. All tumors that appear in the spinal cord are cancerous and are likely to spread to the brain.
The spinal cord is full of neurons that are carried by long extensions called axons. The neurons in the spinal cord carry important information to and from the brain to the rest of the body. In some ways, the spinal cord can be thought of as an extension of the brain. This is why brain cancer and spinal cancer are usually spoken of together. When the spinal cord develops a tumor, the cancerous cells can affect a number of different functions in the body.
Affects of Spinal Cancer
Some symptoms of spinal cord tumors include pain in the back and neck, loss of appetite, weight loss, fever, chills, spasms and vomiting. Depending on where the tumor is, patients may also experience visual loss, hearing loss, facial nerve damage and loss of motor skills. Since spinal tumors grow in the area of the body that contains the central nervous system, it is virtually impossible to remove a spinal tumor. This means that the cancer can easily spread from the spine to the brain.
Since it is difficult and virtually impossible to remove spinal tumors, they are usually treated with chemotherapy or radiation. It is possible to remove brain tumors with surgery, if the spinal cancer has spread from the spine to the brain. Spinal cancer can affect your entire body and nervous system. Doctors and scientists are now studying the affects of glyconutrients on cancer.
