Bone Cancer Treatment Options

As the name says, in bone cancer, cancerous cells are formed in the tissues of the bones. Although, any kind of bone in the body can be affected by this disease, more vulnerable are the bones of the limbs, which are the arms and legs. According to research, there are multiple types of bone cancer; some that are commonly found in children, while some are common in adults. Also, the disease is bifurcated into primary bone cancer, and secondary bone cancer. In the first one, the source of cancer is the bone itself. However, the second one refers to a cancer that might have begun somewhere else in the body, and later spread to the bone (common examples include breast cancer, cancer of the lungs, and prostate cancer). Speaking of bone cancer treatment, the main options include surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.

The Symptoms and Causes

The commonly observed bone cancer symptoms include:

• The affected areas may be painful, swollen, and tender to touch
• Stiffness
• Fatigue and fever may accompany
• Bones get weaker with time; increasing the vulnerability to breakage
• Abnormal weight loss
• Anemia may also set in

What is important to know is, the occurrence of all these symptoms do not necessitate the development of bone cancer, as a lot of other medical conditions may cause the same set of symptoms. That is why, it is important to go for a medical check up if such symptoms start showing up, and know what the real problem is.

As it is with most types of cancers, bone cancer too has unknown cause. What is known is, the cells in the bones grow and divide in an uncontrollable manner, not dying and continuing to live. So when these cells accumulate, they form a tumor. Also, there are certain risk factors that make some people highly vulnerable to develop this condition. These may include, age, children are more susceptible to bone cancer, history of treatment with radiation or chemotherapy, and heredity factors.

Treatment Methods

There are a few important factors which drive the course of the treatment plan for bone cancer. They include:

• The type of the tumor
• The stage
• The affected part of the body
• Age
• Overall health

And mentioned already, there are three options for treating this cancer; surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy.

About surgery, its main aim is to get rid of the cancer from the body. Here, the tumor, and a small neighboring part of it is removed. There could be three types of surgery. In one type, if the diseases seems to have affected a large area, or it has occurred in a complicated part, then surgeons might go for an amputation. Now, another option is getting rid of the cancer, and avoiding the amputation. This choice is made, if surgeons know that the cancer can be separated from nerves and other tissues. As I have mentioned, bone cancer can affect any bone of the body. So in cases, wherein, bones other than that of the limbs are affected, the treatment would include removal of the affected bone, and some surrounding tissues.

Coming to radiation therapy, X-rays are employed to kill the cancer cells. This procedure is used with a purpose to shrink the cancer cells, so that they can be removed with the help of a surgery. Also, this therapy is used for people for whom, surgery might not be a favorable option. And, the therapy may be used post surgery, to kill cancer cells that might have been left behind.

And when the talk is about drugs used for treating bone cancer, it is about chemotherapy. These medications travel throughout the body, and kill the cancer cells. Usually, it is used before surgery, so as to reduce the cancer cells, so that they can be gotten rid of easily.