As we grow older, we all would get one common problem that is back pain. Usually, it is believed the back pain could be due to ligament or muscle injury. Improper lifting plus others like poor posture and lack of exercising etc could result in injury to the muscle or ligament leading to lower back pain in us.
But how will you react if you come to know that the back pain is because of the cancer growth? Shocked right!!
The important piece of information is that back pain can also be due to certain types of cancer. It is worthy to note that in cancer patients back pain could be due to the growth or a sign of metastasis where the cancer has spread to their back. Point is that when the back pain lasts for more than a month and is accompanied by other symptoms like weight loss, fatigue, fever etc then it is highly necessary to consult a doctor and know about the reason.
Back pain as a common symptom is witnessed in these types of cancers.
Lung cancer:
Not many would associate lung cancer with lower back pain. Bitter fact is that lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer related deaths across the world. The tumour would press against the spine or nerves and this could lead to severe pain.
Breast cancer:
A person could get pain in the upper back and shoulders etc due to the spread of breast cancer to the bones. The person would also have other symptoms like weight loss, fatigue etc. Bone fractures might also occur.
Prostate cancer:
When the tumour presses against the spine, then there are chances of getting back pain due to prostate cancer. In men who are above the age of 50, this type of back pain would be present. There are also other symptoms like blood in the urine and difficulty in urinating etc.
Colorectal cancer:
It must be noted that colorectal cancer could result in back pain when the tumour has spread to the liver or lymph nodes etc. This would then put huge pressure on the spine and on the surrounding tissues etc. The back pain in such cancer cases would be accompanied by abdominal pain, weight loss etc.
Pancreatic cancer:
When a person has pancreatic cancer then he or she could get back pain. Here also, the tumour would put huge pressure on the spine or on the surrounding tissues.
Ovarian cancer:
If the tumour has spread to the lymph nodes or other organs, then ovarian cancer could also result in back pain. It is noteworthy that this type of back pain is accompanied by other symptoms like abdominal pain, irregular bleeding and bloating etc.
Multiple myeloma:
When the plasma cells in the bone marrow get affected, we could get multiple myeloma. The pressure of the tumour on the spine would lead to severe pain. Those with multiple myeloma would also have other symptoms like fatigue, infections, bone fractures etc.