How?

[cupid04]

How does a doctor tell that a cancer is secondary? Sorry, If I appear thick but
a dear friend of ours has just been diagnosed as having cancer of the spine.
All they've said so far is that it's a secondary cancer [meaning obviously, it
started somewhere else.] She has been in hospital a week already and they
are just doing batch after batch of test without any answers. Surely they most
have more answers by now. Her husband and daughter are worried sick.

[Sqad]

That is a good question

Firstly, some sites e.g,liver, lungs, bone,brain lymph glands are the sites of choice for secondaries..........not always, but mostly.

Secondly.......Secondaries have typical X-Ray appearamces......mostly but not always.

Thirdly and the most importantly.... biopsy.To biopsy and see malignant tissue which is from an organ in a distant part of the body i.e colon tissue biopsied from the liver would indicate a secondary.
The pattern and picture of the biopsy is crucial.

It is not uncommon in medicine for the secondary to appear first and then the hunt is on to find the primary and it is not unusual for the patient to die of malignant secondary disease without the primary ever being found.

Bone secondaries like your friends commonly have the primary in breast, or lungs or colon or thyroid and that are the first places to look.

[cupid04]

Thankyou. At the moment she is dosed up to the eyeballs on morphine. I will
let you know the results of any further tests.

[Smowball]

My mum had secondary cancers in hip bone, lungs, brain - the primary cancer was breast.

[tezmand]

my dad dies of secondry cancer in his lungs liver and splean the primary was on his head skin cancer

[sunny-dave]

Sorry to butt in Cupid (and I hope that your friend can get some better news soon) ...

... just want to say to sqad that his is the most interesting and informative reply I've seen for ages - very useful indeed.

[Sqad]

sunny-dave.......thanks....(sqad curtsies)