Bone cancer

What is bone cancer

Bone cancer originates in the bones of a human body or many times cancer originates somewhere else but may spread in various bones and particularly spine or backbone; also referred as metastatic bone cancer or cancer metastasis or stage 4 cancer. Any bone could come under the threat of this disease, but generally the longer bones of your body, so to say the bones of your legs and arms, are at a greater risk. Though specifically high risk remains for backbone. Bone marrow cancer is different from bone cancer. Examples of bone marrow cancer are multiple myeloma, blood cancer, leukemia etc. Whenever problem first starts from the bone  – known as bone swelling or primary bone tumor. Bone tumor may or may not be cancer. Osteosarcoma or sarcoma cancer are the examples of primary cancer bone tumor. Rhabdomyosarcoma is a type of cancer that primarily involves muscle. Cancer surgery may be considered for stage 1 or stage 2 primary bone cancer or primary bone tumor.

What causes cancer

Bone cancer causes – Risk factors for bone cancer

• Genetic tendency: A few typical genetic syndromes could increase a person’s chances of contracting bone cancer. These syndromes could have been active in any person belonging to your lineage.
• Treatment for one kind of cancer can make you prone to some other kind: Radiation affects your bones adversely. A patient of breast cancer might be undergoing radiation therapy that further increases his or her risk of contracting bone cancer in future.
• Paget’s disease can have unfavorable implications: Paget’s disease is a disease that affects elderly people. This condition, if left untreated, can turn into bone cancer at a later stage.

Bone cancer symptoms

• Sudden loss of weight: If you lose a considerable amount of weight in a few weeks time without having made any effort at all, you should probably be worried about the health of your bones. Bone cancer can result in sudden and unintentional weight loss.
• Unexpected bone fracture or breakage: Cancer of the bones is known to chew at the strength of your bones. Weakened and diseased bones can break or get fractured very easily. An unexpected fracture should not be overlooked so as to prevent chances of anything more harmful.
• Long spans of unyielding exhaustion: Constant fatigue and sleepiness might be hinting at a more serious underlying problem. Cancerous bone cells can make you feel exhausted without much exertion as your bones lose their inherent potency.
• Persistent pain in the bones: Excruciating cramps or pangs of stinging pain in a person’s bones either continuously or at odd hours, could be indicative of bone cancer.
• Bone swelling: The area affected by bone cancer can grow big and tender or the bone itself can swell up.

What is bone metastasis – Metastatic cancer

The bone is a common site for metastasis. Bone metastasis or “bone mets” occurs when cancer cells from the primary tumor relocate to the bone. Prostate, breast, and lung cancers are most likely to spread to the bone. However, other cancers are not excluded. On the other hand, primary bone cancers are rare cancers where the primary tumor actually starts in the bone. When we talk about bone cancer stages, it is usually in reference with primary bone tumor or cancer. Otherwise if cancer has reached into bone (originating elsewhere), this is usually advanced stage cancer or stage 4 cancer.

When cancer cells metastasize to the bone, they can cause changes to the bone. The process by which portions of the bone are damaged is called osteolysis. Often, small holes result from osteolysis. These holes in the bone are referred to as osteolytic lesions or lytic lesions. Lytic lesions can weaken the bones and increase the risk of breakage or other problems. It is also common for bone metastasis pa tients to suffer from severe pain.

While having cancer of the bone, it is still possible to maintain a good quality of life. Depending upon where the bone metastasis is located, certain activities may be more difficult or even unsafe. You may need to make some changes in your daily routine to lower your risk of bone fracture or to decrease pain. However, most patients find that there are still many things that they can do on their own.

You should know that treatment for pain is part of cancer treatment. It is important to resist the big myth that because cancer is a serious disease, pain is to be expected. Most people can get complete relief for their pain — or at least significant relief that allows them to enjoy the activities of daily life.

Bone metastasis

When cancer travels to the bones, it can weaken them and cause them to release stored calcium. Symptoms include:

• Bone pain
• Constipation, nausea, and loss of appetite from high calcium levels in the blood
• Broken bones / fractures (pathological fracture)
• Numbness or weakness in the legs and possibly the arms
• Pain in the back or neck
• Spinal cord compression

With the advances in medical science, many patients with bone metastases are living a better quality of life than before. New treatments are being discovered and present treatments perfected. In this way, we hope to secure a better future for those patients who have bone metastases.

Diagnosis – Cancer Tests

Imaging tests are used to investigate signs and symptoms that may indicate bone metastasis. Which tests you undergo depends on your specific situation.

Tests may include:

• X-ray
• Bone scan (bone scintigraphy)
• Computerized tomography (CT)
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
• Positron emission tomography (PET)

Bone cancer treatment – Cancer metastasis treatment

Systemic treatments

Systemic therapies include chemotherapy, hormone therapy, Targeted therapy, Immunotherapy or other medicines that are taken by mouth or injected into the blood. These treatments are not aimed specifically at bone metastases, but they often help treat them.

Other systemic treatments, such as radiopharmaceuticals and bisphosphonates, are aimed more specifically at cancer that has reached the bones.

Denosumab

Denosumab is another drug that can help when cancer spreads to bone. Like the bisphosphonates, this drug keeps osteoclasts from being turned on, but it does so in a different way, by blocking a substance called RANKL.

Targeted treatments for bone metastases

Bone cement

Another option to strengthen and/or stabilize a bone is to use injections of quick-setting bone cement or glue called PMMA.

When PMMA is injected into a spinal bone it’s called Percutaneous nonsurgical awake vertebroplasty or kyphoplasty. This helps stabilize the bone and relieves pain in most people. Vertebroplasty often reduces pain right away and can be done in an outpatient setting.

When the bone cement is injected to strengthen bones other than the spine, it’s called cementoplasty.

It is considered one of the safest and best treatments, as it not only controls the pain but also reduces the chances of future fracture in bone drastically.

Ablation techniques

Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a common type. It uses a needle that carries an electric current. The tip of the needle is put into the bone tumor. CT scans may be used to be sure the needle is in the right place.

In another type of ablation, called cryoablation, a very cold probe is put into the tumor to freeze it, killing the cancer cells.

Cancer therapy – External radiation therapy

Are you suffering from pain?

Any cancer has only 4 treatments. Surgery, chemotherapy, radiation and pain relief treatment / pain management.

What is the stage of cancer? Stage decides the treatment. All advanced cancers cannot be treated by chemotherapy and / or radiation therapy. Chemotherapy / radiation therapy may not benefit in stage 4 cancer. Recent research tells that unnecessary chemotherapy may reduce quality & life span too. Pain is the most common problem in stage 3 or 4. Please remember Pain definitely can be controlled or treated at any stage of cancer. Even if you are taking ayurvedic treatment for cancer or homeopathic treatment, it will not help in pain relief – You must take pain management treatment. Pain relief is important for continuing any treatment. Pain relief needs dedicated pain management treatment usually offered by Pain specialist doctors. In addition to best cancer specialist, ACCN is proud to have best pain specialist doctor in Delhi and in India. Pain management and cancer treatment goes side by side. Demand a pain free cancer treatment.

One must always remember that in stage 3 / stage 4 / terminal cancer – palliative care and pain relief treatment is usually the priority treatment so that pain relief continues at home too.  Pain free journey of cancer ie pain free cancer treatment helps in prolongation of life.

Advanced-Cancer Care Network, Delhi, India, with its branches (contact) at Delhi and Rohtak (Haryana) is a unique conglomeration of super-specialist doctors, who believe in well-being of human life.  ACCN is the most advanced centre for stage 3 cancer, stage 4 cancer, advanced stage cancer, terminal cancer, Cancer pain management and palliative care. It offers the unique and state-of-the-art treatment for pain relief and cancer treatment in India.

Click on Pain relief in Bone Cancer to know the best pain management methods at home for bone cancer.

Palliative care

Palliative care is designed to give symptomatic relief to the patient, control the side-effects of illness or treatment and improve quality of life of cancer patients. Palliative care treatment is provided by a medical specialist, other than oncosurgeon or oncologist. This medical specialist is known as “Pain & Palliative Care Specialist”. India has very limited number of such specialists and if you are also not able to find one for yourself, please contact ACCN (Advanced – Cancer Care Network), we are proud to have India”s best and most qualified Pain Specialists and Palliative Care Specialists.

Click on Understanding palliative care to know the palliative care treatment for stage 3 cancer or stage 4 cancer or advanced stage cervical cancer.

Role of Palliative Care Treatment

It is usually said that role of palliative care starts, when cancer becomes incurable or advanced stage or terminal or at end-of-life. It is one of the biggest myths in cancer treatment protocols. Palliative care specialist must be consulted and involved in the cancer treatment right from the first day when cancer is diagnosed and treatment is started. Initially when cancer is at stage 1 or 2, complete focus is on cancer cure and palliative care has minimal but very important role. As the cancer (if) progresses, gradually role of palliative care also enlarges. In stage 3 or stage 4. role of palliative care becomes much more important than other regular cancer treatments.

Click on How we can help to know about our various services for advanced cancer patients.

Click on Symptom control to understand that how we can provide suffering free life to advanced cancer patient.

Benefits of Palliative Care

• Makes patient feel better and stay active during treatment
• Manages side-effects of cancer treatment
• Facilitates as high a quality of life as possible
• Helps cancer treatments do a better job
• Can be curative as well as life-supporting treatment
• Cancer diet planning
• Improves survival outcomes
• Increases immunity levels
• Improves communication between patient and family members
• Maintains hope and stick to principals of ethics

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