my mom has a mass on L-5 of her spine can this be anyting besides a tumor?

Question: please no funny answers. yes she is seeing a doctor and is going to take a mri but i want to get basic idea as to what this might be so i can prepare myself. i will not be sharing my findings from here with my mother, this is only for me. any info past experience will help. i am smart and sensible and will wait for the doctors results i just want to do a little research upfront. i will not hold anyone responsibe for anything they tell me and i fully realize without seeing the person that one cannot fully 100% answer this question, an i am o.k. with that. i am basically wondering can a mass be anything other than a tumor, and if so what? thanks for your help. scott

Answers:
Is this a mass seen on x-rays or a mass felt by your mother? Can you feel it on the skin? If it can be felt, I would bet it is a benign fatty tumor called a lipoma. Remember that a tumor does not mean cancer.....tumors can be benign (non-cancerous) or malignant. In the area of the lumbar spine, I cannot think of a cancerous tumor (they are normally within the spinal canal and not in the bony part of the vertebra) that can be either felt by touching the lower back or seen on an x-ray.

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it could be a bulge in one of her discs, or a bone spur. it doesn't necessarily have to be a tumor. if it is indeed a tumor, it may not be malignant (cancerous) and surgery to remove it may be a very real option for her. if they haven't found any other tumors anywhere else, or masses, then you really shouldn't worry until they have the results from the mri. hubby had a "mass" in his lower spine three years ago and it turned out to be compressed discs and they operated and he was fine. his cancer turned out to be in his colon just this past march, which was totally unrelated to his back surgery. you have hope kiddo. good luck to you and i'll be keeping you and your mama in my prayers.

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