Spine Cancer and Paralysis

Spine Cancer and Paralysis - Cancer of the spine requires urgent attention. If left untreated, cancer cells can damage the spine bones (vertebrae), causing enormous pain, and also, the instability of the spine.
In some cases, the collapse of the vertebrae are very likely to occur. When this happens, the cancer mass can press the spinal cord or spinal nerves, causing pain, paralysis, sensory failure, and loss of bowel or bladder control.
Cancer of the spine can be very painful in the final stages. For patients who experience symptoms, understand and choose the most appropriate treatment options can be very stressful and confusing. "
Depending on the type and stage of cancer of the spine, various forms of treatment modalities available today, ranging from chemotherapy and radiotherapy are aimed at destroying the cancer cells to surgical treatment.
When combined together, surgery plus radiotherapy can potentially provide the best outcome for some patients.
"When metastasis occurs, the spine is an easy target," said Dr Mohd Hisam Ariffin Mohammed, orthopedic and spine surgeon at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre (UKMMC) in Cheras, Kuala Lumpur. (Asione)
years.
Spine cancer symptoms include mild to excruciating pain, usually pain that can wake you from sleep. Sometimes, this type of pain can be mistaken for arthritis or muscle spasms.
"Cancer of the spine can result in patients having the nerve is compressed or (compression) the spinal cord; (spine) bone to be destroyed from cancer and can not hold the body upright man again.
"This causes the patient to move, (either) of pain or paralysis due to compression of the spinal cord.
"They also can feel a lot of pain and patients have very poor quality of life," explains Dr. Hisam.
Moreover, if the cancer is detected late, and it is in advanced stages, surgery is usually not recommended by doctors.
The best treatment at this point is to keep the pain management and patient as comfortable as possible.
He added that he advocated improving the quality of life of patients, which should be a priority for caregivers of patients.