Hello, I m a 58 year old women and has had back surgery on my L5-S1 5 years ago. I m the proud owner of 2 rods 4 bolts etc. I have recently herniated another disc. My Doctor is a very good at his job. He has recently had me go through a battery of tests. He has found a spot on my left rib and spine where the disk is herniated. He seems quite concerned about them and said he d like to do some more tests before I see the surgeon. He didn t want to alarm me but suggested it might be cancer. I was wondering if it is what are my options?
First, we need to confirm the nature of these spots. They may or may not be cancer. For this a bone scan and if required a biopsy from the lesions will be sufficient. If they indeed are cancer, then you need to ascertain whether they have come from somewhere else or they have started from the bone itself. If, from the bone, then surgery will be curative in most cases. If from elsewhere then the treatment is entirely different. Anyway, that's a long way on, just take the first step and find out what they are.