Is Upper Back Pain A Sign Of Cancer

Symptoms From Lymphoma In The Chest

When lymphoma starts in the thymus or lymph nodes in the chest, it may press on the nearby trachea , which can cause coughing, trouble breathing, or a feeling of chest pain or pressure.

The superior vena cava is the large vein that carries blood from the head and arms back to the heart. It passes near the thymus and lymph nodes inside the chest. Lymphomas in this area may push on the SVC, which can cause the blood to back up in the veins. This can lead to swelling in the head, arms, and upper chest. It can also cause trouble breathing and a change in consciousness if it affects the brain. This is called SVC syndrome. It can be life-threatening and must be treated right away.

Pancoast Tumors And Horners Syndrome

Horners syndrome is a rare nerve condition that is characterized by decreased pupil size , drooping eyelids and an inability to sweat all on one side of the face. Also known as oculosympathetic palsy, Horners syndrome affects up to 50% of people with a Pancoast tumor. The condition occurs when the tumor invades the sympathetic nervous system, which is the nerve pathway between the brain and the face that controls the bodys flight or fight response. Horners syndrome generally isnt a serious condition and will go away when the cancer is treated.

You Feel Pain In The Side Too

Anyone whos had a kidney stone knows theyre quite agonizingand they may cause upper back pain, says Dr. Ghannad. Its unlikely that this is the only symptom youll notice though. You may also feel severe pain in your side and back below your ribs, the Mayo Clinic notes. Discomfort while peeing or red- or brown-hued urine may be other clues. The best advice? If pain is severe and persistent, its a good idea to be evaluated by a physician, says Ghannad.

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Pain In The Middle Back Can Be More Worrisome Than The Lower Area Since This Isnt The Most Common Area Of Back Pain

Cancer as a cause of mid back pain certainly impedes upon the minds of people who suffer from cancer anxiety.

A variety of disorders can contribute damage of intervertebral disks, vertebrae, ligaments, neural structures, muscles and fascia leading to middle back pain, says Ioannis Psallidas, MD, PhD, Honorary Consultant Respiratory Physician, Oxford Centre for Respiratory Medicine, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, who has a focus in thoracic oncology.

Although most patients with middle back pain have a benign condition, serious, destructive diseases are uncommon causes of back pain, continues Dr. Psallidas.

Back pain is the presenting symptom in 90% of patients with spinal tumors, and the spine is also one of the most common sites of metastasis: About 20,000 cases arise each year1.

In a study published by Brihaye and colleagues, 1,477 cases of spinal metastases were reviewed and found that 16.5% arose from primary tumors in the breast, 15.6% from the lung, 9.2% from the prostate and 6.5% from the kidney2.

In addition, ovarian cancer has the potential to cause pain in the middle back.

The take-home message is that if you begin having back pain, you should not lose sleep over the worry that it could be cancer.

The No. 1 cause of back pain is a combination of poor biomechanics and insufficiently trained muscles.

Shutterstock/Thaninee Chuensomchit

Fevers Chills And Weight

Patients with a spinal infection usually have localized pain, worse when they are bearing weight or engaged in activity. Pain can be intense, and may be relieved only by laying down. Fever, chills, headache and generalized illness are usually present, but even with advanced infection these symptoms may be subtle or overlooked for some time. If, however, you’ve noticed that you are losing weight, experiencing fatigue and have had fevers, chills or night sweats in addition to your back pain, you should bring this to the attention of your doctor. Severe pain may be caused by simply sitting up or changing positions. If the vertebra is weakened by infection it may collapse, and a deformity may be detected.

Spinal infections usually start somewhere else, and the most frequent causes are urinary tract infections, dental abscesses, pneumonia or any chronic wound. Back pain that starts up while you are being treated for one of these problems deserves a careful look.

Neurological signs should be carefully sought. Patients who initially complain of focal spine pain, followed by progressive radicular pain, weakness and incipient paralysis may have infection within the canal, with development of an epidural abscess.

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Back Pain From Cancer

Rarely, it may be the first manifestation of cancer, says a paper in the Journal of General Internal Medicine .

The study authors point out that out of 1,975 walk-in patients at a clinic, only 13 were found to have cancer as a cause of their back pain.

Certain findings correlate to this, but these findings certainly dont automatically mean cancer:

At least 50 years of age

Previous history of cancer

Pain lasting longer than a month

No improvement with conservative therapy

Whats scary is that the paper says that metastatic cancer, when causing back pain, may not always cause other symptoms.

When cancer causes back pain, its more frequently in the lower region. Thus, pain specifically in the middle back, from this disease, would be even rarer.

Quite simply, pain in the back, be it low, middle or upper, has MANY causes including inflammatory bowel disease, irritable bowel syndrome, gastroesophageal reflux disease , fibromyalgia, aortic disease, imminent heart attack, premenstrual syndrome, benign ovarian cysts and overdoing it in a yoga class.

Dr. Psallidas is the main author of many peer-reviewed publications and book chapters in pleural disease and lung cancer.

Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. Shes also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.

Top image: Freepik.com/ shayne_ch13

Problems Digesting Food Such As Feeling Full Quickly When You Eat Bloating Burping Or Wind

The pancreas plays an important role in breaking down food . It is common for pancreatic cancer to cause problems with eating and digesting food.

Symptoms of this include feeling full up quickly when you eat, bloating of your tummy, lots of wind, and burping. But these symptoms are common problems and arent usually due to pancreatic cancer.

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It May Be Your Desk Job

Slouch much? Upper back pain is most commonly from poor posture, says Irene Tien, MD, emergency medicine physician with the Rowe Telemedicine Network. Sitting and staring at a computer shortens chest muscles and pulls on the muscles in the upper back. A lot of people get a muscle spasm between the shoulder blades as a result, she explains. Heres how to help your body recover from sitting all day long.

Abdominal Discomfort Mimicking Back Pain

There are a number of disorders involving the abdominal organs that can produce back pain symptoms, and some of these disorders are quite serious. Although rare, they cannot be overlooked.

The most serious vascular disorder presenting as back pain is the abdominal aortic aneurysm. Patients are often difficult to diagnose early on, as initial symptoms may be subtle and non-specific. As the process gets worse, the pain becomes deep-seated and localized to the thoracic or thoracolumbar segments of the spine. If your doctors have already said you have an aneurysm, then intense pain, undiminished by narcotics, should trigger you to go immediately to the emergency room.

Back pain can be triggered by disorders of the gastrointestinal tract. Ulcers, especially those involving the posterior duodenal wall, may cause upper lumbar back pain. A “perforated” ulcer may trigger intense pain and spasm, as well as signs of generalized illness and an acute abdomen.

Any type of kidney disease may cause back pain referred to the upper lumbar junction and flank. Kidney stones are a notorious cause of severe, incapacitating back pain. This kind of pain typically comes in waves, causing intense back spasms and pain for a few minutes, then easing off for a bit before coming back with a vengeance. Pain like this is referred to as colic, and is typical for kidney stones, gall stones and kidney infections.

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Common Symptoms Of Pancreatic Cancer

The following are the most common signs of exocrine pancreatic cancerspecifically for pancreatic adenocarcinoma. This cancer starts in the ducts of the pancreas and represents more than 90 percent of all diagnoses. Neuroendocrine tumors are much less common and may present different symptoms.

Patients may experience symptoms differently and should not expect to manifest all symptoms listed.

Diagnosing Your Back Pain

Tell your doctor right away if your back starts to hurt. They’ll try to figure out the cause of your back pain to decide on the best treatments.

You may need to have tests that can help your doctor see the bones inside your back. These can include:

• X-ray

Your doctor may also want you to get a blood test to check your calcium levels. If they are higher than normal, it could be a cause of your pain.

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Causes Of Back Pain Related To Lung Cancer

Your doctor will go over the results of the tests with you. They’ll let you know if problems like these are causing your back pain:

Spinal cord compression. If lung cancer grows and spreads, it can put pressure on the bones that make up the spine and the spinal cord or the nerves as they exit the spinal cord. This can lead to pain in your neck or upper, middle, or lower back. The pain may also spread to your arms, buttocks, or legs. Your back or neck may feel numb, weak, or stiff. If you start having symptoms of arm or leg weakness, get medical care right away.

Leptomeningeal metastasis. The inner layer of cells and tissue that covers the brain and spinal cord is called the leptomeninges. If your cancer cells spread to this area or get into the spinal fluid, it can cause back pain and other problems, such as headaches and weakness in your arms and legs.

High calcium levels. Lung cancer that spreads to the bones can cause calcium levels in your blood to go up, a condition called hypercalcemia. This can cause back pain as well as symptoms like nausea, vomiting, thirst, weakness, and headaches.

Shoulder Pain As A Symptom

Unfortunately, shoulder pain related to lung cancer or mesothelioma can be very similar or identical to that of conditions such as arthritis. If you have any question at all about shoulder pain, it’s better to be safe and talk to your healthcare provider. Yet, there are a few symptoms that make lung cancer more likely.

Symptoms that may be more concerning for lung cancer include shoulder pain that’s worse at night, pain that occurs at rest, and pain that’s not associated with any loss of motion with activity.

Shoulder pain is also more likely to be something non-skeletal if you do not recall any injury or activities in which you may have overused your shoulder.

Shoulder pain is also more likely to be a symptom of lung cancer if you have other symptoms of lung cancer, such as shortness of breath a persistent cough, wheezing, hoarseness, coughing up blood, fatigue, or if you are losing weight for no reason.

Keep in mind that the symptoms of lung cancer in women and symptoms of lung cancer in non-smokers are often less typical than those in menand sometimes very vague, such as the gradual onset shortness of breath with activity and fatigue.

Many people dismiss the early symptoms of lung cancer as being due to age-related changes in exercise tolerance, weight gain, or being too sedentary.

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Is Shoulder Pain A Sign Of Lung Cancer

Sharp shoulder or scapula pain are some of the most common symptoms of a Pancoast tumor, particularly in its early stages. The pain typically develops as the tumor impacts one or more of the nearby structures, such as the:

• Ribs
• Neck
• Ulnar nerve, which runs from the side of the arm to the wrist
• Branchial plexus, the nerve fibers that run downward from the spine and into the shoulder and arm
• Parietal pleura, the highly sensitive outer layer of the membrane that lines the chest cavity.
• Endothoracic fascia, the fibrous tissue that separates the chest wall from the diaphragm and the pleura

Shoulder pain can be a symptom of other lung cancers besides Pancoast tumors, typically if a lung tumor presses against a particular nerve or if the cancer travels to the tissues or bones near the shoulder joint.

Its important to note that shoulder pain is far more likely to be caused by an orthopedic condition, such as osteoarthritis or a rotator cuff injury, than lung cancer. Nevertheless, shoulder pain that persists for more than a few days should be evaluated by a medical professional. Shoulder discomfort that is related to lung cancer may worsen at night, be present while resting or occur without impacting range of motion. Lung cancer that is not classified as a Pancoast tumor may also cause a hacking cough, shortness of breath and wheezing, among other respiratory symptoms.

What Causes Ovarian Cancer Back Pain

Unfortunately, cancer can cause a lot of crazy symptoms. You may think that because your cancer is in a certain area of your body, your symptoms will stay in that area, but that may not always be the case.

For example, if you have ovarian cancer, your cancer is obviously in the pelvic region of your body.

Typically, youd attribute symptoms of ovarian cancer be all localized to that pelvic region. However, it is fairly common to have lower back pain and it is a commonly ignored symptom!

Well discuss the common symptoms of ovarian cancer, and then well explain ovarian cancer back pain in greater detail what causes it? And what can you do to make your back pain feel better if you have ovarian cancer?

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Symptoms That Resemble Other Conditions

The symptoms of pancreatic cancer may be similar to those of other conditions or medical problems, which can delay diagnosis even further. Upon diagnosis, patients often look back and start to make a connection between various symptoms that seemed unrelated or unremarkable at the time.

Listen to your body and consult with your doctor about any new symptoms you may be experiencing, even if you think they can be explained. While cancer is probably not the culprit, diagnostic tests can help to confirm the case.

When Back Pain Is A Symptom Of Lung Cancer

• Treating Back Pain

Research suggests that the time between the onset of symptoms and a diagnosis of lung cancer is around 12 months. This is often because a person does not recognize the symptoms, or because they hope that they’ll go away. Back pain is one such symptom.

It is not uncommon for people to have back pain with lung cancer, or even to have back pain as their first symptom. In fact, there are certain defining symptoms that point to cancer as the cause of back pain.

Chief among them are the location and types of pain, which may be quite different from your typical, chronic backache. All told, around 25% of people with lung cancer will report back pain as a symptom at some point in their disease.

This article looks at how back pain is linked to lung cancer, and how this pain differs from other kinds of back pain. It also explains why early treatment for back pain is so important.

Verywell / Hugo Lin

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You Were In A Car Accident

If youre able to walk away from a rear end crash and feel OK, you may decide not to get checked out by a doctor. However, whiplasha violent backward-and-forward jerk of the headcan create tears and inflammation of the muscles and ligaments in the neck and upper back, explains Dr. Chang. See your doctor if you suspect whiplash, especially if you have other symptoms like fatigue, dizziness, and pain in your neck.

Youre Short Of Breath

Rarely, upper back pain may be due to a punctured lung, which can be caused by an injury. While it is less likely to be the cause of your discomfort, a punctured lung is something you need to know the signs of so you can take the right action. If the pain is accompanied by shortness of breath or severe pain taking a deep breath, seek urgent medical care, advises Dr. Chang.

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When To Go To The Doctor

You cant always assume the discomfort is no big deal. If pain lingers for more than a few days or requires regular pain medications, you should be evaluated by your physician, says Leda Ghannad, MD, assistant professor of orthopedic surgery and physical medicine and rehabilitation at Rush University Medical Center. Another sign: if the pain limits your abilities in your day-to-day life, like you have to call off work to stay in bed. Following are signs you need to get medical help, pronto.

Is The Back The First Place For It To Spread

The most for breast cancer to spread to are:

• the lungs
• the bones
• the brain

As cancer cells rapidly grow out of control, they move into healthy tissues to form new tumors. This spread usually starts with the tissue nearest to where the cancer initially began. When this happens, people may start to experience symptoms in the new area.

When breast cancer spreads to the bones, it can affect:

• the ribs

• thirst
• confusion

These symptoms occur when the bones start releasing calcium into the bloodstream. The bones may also fracture more easily.

Other signs that cancer is spreading include:

• headaches, dizziness, and possibly seizures if it involves the brain
• shortness of breath, which may indicate that it has spread to the lungs
• jaundice and abdominal swelling, when cancer spreads to the liver

A person can often treat back pain at home, but if it persists or gets worse, they should see their doctor.

Home care for back pain includes taking anti-inflammatory painkillers, such as ibuprofen.

However, a person should speak to their doctor before taking any medications, as these may interact with existing treatment.

Other treatments for advanced breast cancer include:

• chemotherapy
• hormonal therapies
• targeted therapy

These methods all aim to reduce the size of tumors or prevent them growing, help with symptoms, and extend someoneâs life.

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