Types of Treatment for Bone Cancer

The type of treatment needed for treating bone cancer depends on many factors, such as the type of bone cancer and the location and size of the tumor involved. Other factors taken into account include the patient's age, size and overall health. However, bone cancer is treatable, and if discovered early enough it can often be cured with a 100 percent recovery. Here are the treatment options for treating bone cancer.

Surgery

• Surgery is usually the main treatment method for treating bone cancer. The surgeon will operate on you to remove any bone tumors you may be having, as well as all the surrounding muscle and bone that may be affected. When surgeons have to remove the entire bone from an area, they usually look to replace it with another bone in the body, or will find an adequate prosthesis to take its place. Even if the disease has progressed to the arm or leg, the surgeon will do everything in his power to preserve the limb so that it does not have to be completely removed.

Cryosurgery

• Cryosurgery is often used in conjunction with normal surgery to completely eradicate the cancer. After the bone tumor is removed, the surgeon will pour in liquid nitrogen in the affected area to freeze the tumor cavity, killing microscopic tumor cells, thus decreasing the chance for any recurrence. The surgeon will then use bone grafts, or screws and rods, to fill in the lost bone space.

Radiation Therapy

• Radiation therapy is often given in conjunction with surgery, but sometimes it is used on its own. Radiation therapy is used to kill any cancer cells that may be remaining after surgery, or to treat tumors that are impossible to surgically remove. Radiation therapy is also used to relieve cancer symptoms, including pain and dizziness, if the cancer has progressively spread to other parts of the body.

  The most common type of radiation therapy for bone cancer is external-beam radiation therapy. This therapy uses high dosages of radiation delivered outside the body, focusing on the tumor and any surrounding cancer-infected tissues. External-beam therapy is a highly evolved and extremely precise method of delivering high doses of radiation directly to tumors, while minimizing the effects on the surrounding organs.

Brachytherapy

• Brachytherapy is another type of radiation therapy that involves delivering the radiation directly to the infected tumor. This will be administered by removing the tumor, then inserting the radiation directly into the tumor bed through the way of catheters, where it would stay in your body for 10-14 days until being removed by the doctor. Sometimes this treatment is administered for only a few days, in conjunction with a longer external-beam treatment.

Chemotherapy

• Chemotherapy is a very common method for treating bone cancer, and is usually used in conjunction with surgery. Chemotherapy is most often used after the tumor has been removed, to kill any remaining cancerous tissue. Sometimes chemotherapy will be used before surgery to try to reduce the size of the tumor, making it easier for surgeons to remove the tumor.