Bone cancer treatment methods

Like most of other cancer types and cancer sign, the primary treatments for bone cancer include surgical procedure, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. The type of treatments given to the patient is decided based on the cancer’s size, location and progression, and patient’s general health and preferences. The necessity of a patient to receive one type of treatment or more than one treatment is also based on those factors.

Since bone cancer is rare it is a necessity for a patient to search for an experienced team of doctors that specialized in bone tumor treatment.

Surgery treatment

Bone cancer cases are mostly treated with surgery. In the surgical procedure, the surgeons will remove the tumor and a small margin of healthy tissue that surround it.

Surgery to remove the tumor that doesn’t affect the limbs

This surgery usually performed for bone cancer that grows in bones other than legs and arms bones such as ribs or spines. The surgical procedure involves the removal of the tumor, the bone and a small margin of healthy tissue around the afflicted bone.

Limb removal surgery

If the disease already in advantage stage, has large stage or hard to remove alone then the surgical procedure will usually involves removal of partial or the whole limb. This procedure becomes less common these since there are methods that can safely remove the tumor without having to amputate the limb as well.

Limb-sparing surgery

Whenever the cancer bone can be separated from the nerves and other tissue, the removal of partial or the whole limb is usually not needed. Thus the surgeons only remove some of the cancerous bones and spare the limb. The bones that were removed during the operation can be replaced with some bones from another part of your body.

Radiation therapy

The procedure uses specific high-energy rays like X-ray to shrink or eliminate the tumor. The high-energy rays prevent the cancer cells from multiplying by damaging its DNA.

Radiation therapy is advisable if the bone cancer cannot be removed by a surgery. It also can be used in combination with surgery to prevent the remaining cancer cells from coming back.

The procedure can also damage nearby healthy cell around the afflicted bone but these cells usually able to recover in a short time period.

Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy is used to eliminate cancer cells through chemical drugs. It usually used in conjunction with radiotherapy before a bone cancer removal surgery. The combination work to shrink the tumor size to avoid a limb removal.

Chemotherapy side effects include hair loss, vomiting and fatigue.