Bone cancer

Bone cancer
Information:
Bone cancer is caused by an abnormal and uncontrolled growth of cells within the bone. It can be benign or malignant.
Benign tumours aren't cancerous. They don't spread to other parts of the body and don't invade surrounding tissue.
Malignant tumours are cancerous. They spread to other parts of the body and invade surrounding tissue. This spread of cancer is called a metastasis and can form a secondary cancer in another organ.

Symptoms:
Most Common Symptoms:
1.osteosarcoma is most common in the lower thigh, shins and arms
2.Ewing's sarcoma most commonly occurs in the pelvis, thigh and shin
3.chondrosarcoma is most common in the thigh, pelvis, ribs, upper arm and shoulder bone.
4.spindle cell sarcoma most commonly develops in the lower thigh, shins and arms
Bone cancer often causes pain and tenderness in the affected area. This is often worse at night. As the cancer grows it can also cause swelling in the affected area. If it is near a joint it may make movement in that area difficult.
Less common symptoms:
1.tiredness
2.fever
3.weight loss
It's important to remember that these symptoms can be caused by many problems other than bone cancer. So although not necessarily a result of bone cancer, if you have these symptoms you should visit your GP.

Causes:
1.Previous treatment with radiotherapy. If you have had a lot of radiotherapy for cancer in the past, you have a slightly increased risk of getting bone cancer in that area.
2.Paget's disease. This bone disease gradually deforms your bones, causing pain and fractures. Having Paget's disease for a long time increases your risk of developing bone cancer
3.Having a previous benign bone tumour. If you have had a benign (non-spreading) type of bone cancer, you are more likely to develop chondrosarcoma.
4.Retinoblastoma. Inheriting the gene that causes this rare type of eye cancer also makes you more likely to develop osteosarcoma.
5.Having certain other rare inherited conditions, such as Li-Fraumeni syndrome, can increase your risk of developing bone cancer.

Treatment:
a.Limb salvage surgery involves removing the area of bone where the tumour is. Because of the recent advances in surgery, this method of treating bone cancer is becoming more common. The area of bone removed is replaced with either a metal prosthesis (an artifical replacement part) or a piece of healthy bone taken from another part of your body (a bone graft).
b.Despite ongoing improvements in surgical technique, sometimes a limb salvaging operation isn't possible. If the cancer has spread into surrounding tissues, amputating the limb may be the only way to get rid of the cancer. Support from the medical staff looking after you can help you come to terms with this news. Advances in prosthetics (artificial limbs) mean that you can often have a fully active life after this surgery. A specialist in artificial limbs will visit you at hospital to arrange one for you. A physiotherapist will be able to teach you how to adapt to and best use it.

Non-surgical treatments
Chemotherapy

Chemotherapy uses medicines to destroy cancer cells. However, they can also have side effects such as making you feel tired or ill, or causing nausea or hair loss. Chemotherapy is particularly good at treating Ewing's sarcoma, but it can also treat other types of bone cancer such as osteosarcoma.

There are lots of different types of chemotherapy drugs. They are usually injected into a vein but sometimes tablets are used.

Chemotherapy is often given before and after surgery to make it easier to remove the tumour and to prevent it coming back.
Radiotherapy

Radiotherapy uses radiation to kill cancer cells. A beam of radiation is targeted on the cancerous cells, which shrinks the tumour.

Radiotherapy is especially useful for Ewing's sarcoma but it's sometimes used for osteosarcoma. It can be used before surgery to make it easier to remove the tumour, or afterwards to prevent it coming back.