Pain may be an early symptom with some cancers like bone cancers or testicular cancer. A headache that does not go away or get better with treatment may be a symptom of a brain tumor. Back pain can be a symptom of cancer of the colon, rectum, or ovary. Most often, pain due to cancer means it has already spread (metastasized) from where it started.

A primary bone cancer tumor in the spine can cause back pain, as can a number of cancers when they have metastasized, such as breast cancer, testicular cancer, colon cancer, and lung cancer. In fact, back pain is often the first symptom that people with lung cancer notice before they are diagnosed; around 25 percent of people with lung cancer list it as a symptom they experience at some point. A tumor in the lungs can put pressure on the spine, or can affect the nerves around the chest wall and spine.