All You Need to Know About Spinal Tumors 

The spine allows you to perform various actions such as sitting, standing, twisting, or bending. When an issue arises in your spine, you will feel lots of pain in your back because the spine has many nerves. Besides, developing a condition in the spine means that you cannot function normally. One condition causes the cells around the spinal cord to grow uncontrollably. However, there is a specialist who treats spinal tumors in Huntington. This article will understand all about this condition and available treatments. 

Types Of Spinal Tumors 

You can either suffer from primary or secondary tumors. Primary tumors originate in the bones in the spinal column, coverings of the spinal cord, the spinal cord, or result after malignant cells spread from other organs to the spinal cord. 

Symptoms You Might Be Suffering From Spinal Tumors

The doctor will diagnose that you suffer from spinal tumors if a musculoskeletal problem does not cause your back pain after examination and tests. You are likely to experience the following symptoms;

• Pain and tingling moving through your arm and legs 
• Stiff back and neck
• Loss of sensation in the arms and legs 
• Difficulty in walking
• Continuous muscle weakness in your arms and legs
• Reduced sensitivity to heat or cold  
• Loss of bowel or bladder function 
• Spinal deformity as the tumor enlarges
• Erratic degrees of paralysis 

What To Expect During the Hospital Visit

After you suffer from the above symptom, you should visit a doctor for assessment and treatment. First, the doctor will take down your history and recommend an MRI or CT scan to confirm the location of your tumor. The scan results will show whether the tumor is extradural or intradural. Extradural tumors are the most common, occurring outside the spinal cord and its covering. Intradural-extramedullary tumors occur outside the spinal cord but inside the dura, and they do not spread from their location. Further, the intramedullary tumor cells found inside the spinal cord are rare. The doctor will discuss the various treatments available with you based on where the tumor is. 

Treatments 

• Surgery 

The doctor will recommend the treatment to either remove a tumor or prevent it from spreading further. Therefore, if you have a non-metastatic tumor, the doctor can perform the surgery, remove it, and you get cured. On the other hand, if you have a metastatic tumor, the doctor will recommend surgery as part of the palliative care. Besides, surgery becomes preferable if the tumor proves untreatable through radiation or surgery. 

• Radiation

Depending on whether you have a metastasized tumor or not, the doctor will perform external beam radiation therapy. The procedure involves focusing different doses of radiation beams on your tumor for several sessions. 

• Chemotherapy 

 The doctor will recommend chemotherapy if your tumor is spreading fast or has metastasized into cancerous cells. Most often, you will undergo chemotherapy after radiation or surgery. 

A tumor in the spine limits your quality of life and can result in death if not treated early. George Kakoulides, MD, is a neurosurgeon with vast experience treating spinal tumors. He practices in New York in a facility known as GKMD. If you experience the above symptoms and do not suffer longer, call the facility or book an appointment online.