Spinal tumours can cause different symptoms, depending on their size and location. Common symptoms include:

• Back or neck pain that doesn’t go away
• Weakness or numbness in the arms or legs
• Trouble walking or balancing
• Loss of bladder or bowel control
• Tingling or "pins and needles" feeling

If you notice these symptoms, talk to a doctor as soon as possible.

If you have symptoms like ongoing back pain, weakness, or numbness, see a healthcare professional. They will check for a spinal tumour by:

• Asking about your symptoms and medical history
• Doing a physical exam to test strength, reflexes, and sensation
• Ordering scans like CT and MRI to look at the spine
• Sometimes taking a small sample of the tumour (biopsy) to check if it’s benign or malignant

Your doctor will explain the results and what they mean for you.

IMPORTANT FOR ALL PATIENTS.

If you are on any blood thinning medications such as anti-platelet, anti-coagulant or anti-inflammatory medications, they should be stopped one week prior to any surgery. Examples of these medications include plavix, co-plavix, prasugrel, ticagrelor, asasantin, aspirin, disprin, solprin, astrix, cartia, warfarin, pradaxa, dabigatran, rivaroxaban, apixaban, clexane, heparin, celebrex, mobic, naproxen, indomethacin, diclofenac, ibuprofen.

Some diabetes medications need to be stopped up to three weeks prior to surgery. Please discuss with your doctor if you are taking one of these medications.

Similarly, any herbal or natural remedies including (but not limited to) traditional Chinese herbal remedies and prescriptions, naturopathic and homeopathic treatments, and supplements (such as glucosamine, garlic, ginger, ginkgo, ginseng, turmeric and fish oil) should be stopped one week prior to any surgery.

If these medications are not stopped, then your surgery may need to be delayed and rescheduled for reasons of safety. If you are unsure about whether you need to stop any of your medications, please ask your doctor.

Depending on your general fitness and your medical co-morbidities, you may require an assessment by physician specialists and an anaesthetist to assess your safety for surgery, before a decision can be made about your suitability for surgery.

Prior to any surgery, you will need to fast. On the night prior to surgery, your last mouthful of food should be prior to 12 midnight. On the day of surgery, you can sip clear water up until 4 hours prior to your surgery. You may use this opportunity to take medications that your doctor is happy for you to take. Please check with your doctor, what you should do with your medications and write those instructions here.

A member of staff from the hospital or the surgeon’s rooms will contact you up to three days prior to your admission and discuss this with you. They will also discuss your hospital paperwork if this has not been done. This is your opportunity to ask any questions you may have about your upcoming admission.