Neurosurgeon Michael Galgano, MD, discusses spinal tumors and their two main types: those that occur within the spinal cord and those in the spinal column or backbone. Tumors may be cancerous or benign. Some are slow growing and can be monitored without immediate intervention, and others need to be removed surgically. Some may require chemotherapy or radiation. Galgano explains that most tumors in the spinal cord are the result of cancers that have traveled from elsewhere in the body, often the lung, breast or prostate. Surgeries to remove these tumors are delicate operations that harbor significant risk.