

These tests can help your doctor see a spinal cord tumor and find out more information about it: Pain that spreads into the arms, feet, legs, or hipsĪ doctor will usually do a neurologic exam to diagnose a spinal cord tumor.Extreme pain that isn't improved by taking medicine.Feeling worse when you strain in any way, sneeze, or cough.Spinal cord tumors often cause back pain, including: Feeling cold in the hands, fingers, or legs.

An unusual feeling or sensation in the legs.Weak muscles that you can't seem to control, so that you fall or have trouble walking.Inability to control the bowels and/or bladder.Spinal cord tumors can cause many different symptoms: Metastatic (secondary) tumors, which are cancers that have spread from the lung, breast, prostate, or other organs.Meningiomas, which start in the tissues around the spinal cord (meninges).Schwannomas, which start inside the peripheral nerves.Chordomas, which form in the spine and can push against it.Gliomas (ependymomas, astrocytomas, or gangliogliomas), which are cancers that form in cells called glial cells.Medulloblastomas, which start in the brain and metastasize to the spine, and are most common in children.Leukemia or lymphoma, cancers of the blood.

Spinal cord tumors affect many different areas and come in many different types, including: A spinal cord tumor is often a cancer of the lung, breast, prostate, or another cancer that has extended throughout the body to reach the spine. Most of the time, spinal cord tumors are secondary tumors. But spinal cord tumors often cause permanent damage to the nerves and result in disability.Ī spinal cord tumor may be called “primary,” which means the cancer started in the spinal cord, or “secondary,” which means the cancer started somewhere else in body and spread to the spinal cord. The earlier you tell your doctor about your symptoms, get a diagnosis, and start treatment, the better your outcome is likely to be. Some spinal cord tumors can be successfully treated. Spinal cord tumors cause problems with the nerves, blood vessels, and bones. A spinal cord tumor may form inside the spinal cord itself or around the bones that make up the spine. It's much more common to develop a brain tumor than a tumor on the spinal cord. Spinal cord tumors are relatively uncommon.
