When breast, lung and prostate cancers metastasize to multiple bones in the body, three to five times more cancer winds up in the spine than in the lower and upper limbs. Scientists have known of this disparity for decades, but the reason for it has remained unclear.
“When patients have spine metastasis, that’s usually toward the end of the line,” Goodwin said. Average survival, he said, is between 10 and 14 months once cancer reaches the spine, “with some patients surviving much less than that.”
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My husband is on year 7 and was diagnosed with a couple of spine mets at diagnosis. Just to give those who read this and are newly diagnosed with spine mets hope.
I thought that you are only 4.5 years since your diagnosis. I am actually 5.5 years since my diagnosis as polymetastic prostate cancer, even In my neck.
Sounds like you are very fortunate. Good news for you. As checking with others who have passed on they weren’t as fortunate.
If anyone wants to tell a new person who comes looking for answers that spine Mets is no big deal and they take that as gospel then is that fair to them?
It’s very serious in most oncology reports.
With a person 5+5 aggressive do we tell them it could possibly be ridiculous that you might not live 12 months with spine Mets? Hopefully they will live 7 years.
I personally thought it was kind of ridiculous also the time they suggested. But digging deeper it’s not horribly uncommon that life span. It really depends on the aggressiveness of the cancer.
As I mentioned many have passed with spine Mets as well it was in their brain, lungs and all throughout their bones from head to toe.
“Spinal metastasis is a common condition encountered by practitioners while treating oncologic patients. In a study of post-mortem cadavers, the examination of cancer patients with known primary the prevalence of spinal metastasis was as high as 70% to 90% for breast and prostate as the primary types of cancer. Morbidity related to spinal metastasis is related to excruciating back pain requiring high doses of narcotic medications for management, pathological bone fractures, hypercalcemia, and spinal cord compression due to the invasion of epidural space. Rarely spinal metastasis will seed inside the spinal cord itself with no apparent bone involvement. In these cases, when there is no known history of primary cancer, the diagnosis of metastatic lesions becomes difficult, and often the correct diagnosis is determined after pathology confirms the type of tumor”
I actually do have a lot of back pain, but not fron the several mets in my spine. That comes from a crushed vertabra from a motorcycle accident over 20 years ago. All mets are serious regardless of where they occur (I didn't mean to imply the contrary). I just hate to see brothers traumatized early on in the struggle by predictions like you mentioned. Be well and safe, my brother.
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