Cancer that begins in the bone is called primary bone cancer. Primary bone cancer is relatively uncommon in comparison with secondary or metastatic cancer (cancer that occurs initially in another organ and then spreads to bone tissue).
These are common types of Bone Cancer Treatment as follows:
Surgery
How bone cancer is treated depends on the type of tumor, how aggressive it is, the location of the tumor and whether or not the cancer has spread to other areas of the body. Options include surgery, radiation and chemotherapy, or a combination of the three.
Risks include infection, damage to surrounding muscles, nerves and blood vessels, and recurrence of the cancer. Patients are often prescribed a course of physical therapy after surgery to help them regain full use and strength in the limb where the tumor was removed.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is administered by an oncologist, and comprises a series of powerful intravenous drug treatments aimed at stopping and reversing the growth of cancer cells. Chemotherapy is often used before surgery to shrink the tumor, making surgery less invasive. After surgery, it is used as a safeguard to kill any remaining cancer cells. The drugs kill cancer cells, but also affect hair, digestive tract cells and blood-forming cells. Loss of hair, nausea, loss of appetite, anemia and low energy are common side effects of chemotherapy. These side effects usually go away quickly after chemotherapy stops. Chemotherapy patients are sometimes referred to nutritionists to help with the anemia and loss of appetite.
Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy is administered by a radiation oncologist, and comprises a series of high-energy X-rays aimed at the site of the tumor. This treatment is given in small doses over several days, sometimes months. The most common side effects are loss of appetite, fatigue and damage to the skin and other soft tissue at the site of the treatment. Patients who undergo surgery near the site of radiation therapy sometimes are slow to heal because of damage to the blood vessels at the site. Most side effects go away quickly after radiation therapy is over, but problems with slow healing may persist.
previous post