Bone Cancer
By: Hannah McManus
What is Bone Cancer?
"Bone cancer can be primary bone cancer or secondary bone cancer. Primary bone cancer starts in the bone; the cancer initially forms in the cells of the bone, while secondary cancer starts elsewhere in the body and spreads to the bone."
(Source: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/171372.php)
Types of Bone Cancer
-Osteosarcoma
-Chondrosarcoma
-Ewing's sarcoma
(Source: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bone-cancer/symptoms-causes/dxc-20126419)
Signs and Symptoms of bone cancer
- Swelling in affected area/areas
- Weakened bones
-Unintentional weight loss in patients
-Mass or Lump in affected area/areas
( Source: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bone-cancer/symptoms-causes/dxc-20126419)
Bone cancer prevention
Causes of bone cancer
(Source: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bone-cancer/symptoms-causes/dxc-20126419)
Treatment for bone cancer
-Surgery
- Surgery to remove the cancer but save the limb
- Surgery that removes the cancer but does not affect the limbs
- Surgery to remove the limb
- Chemotherapy
-Radiation
( Source: http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/bone-cancer/diagnosis-treatment/treatment/txc-20126509)
How common is bone cancer?
Osteosarcoma occurs mostly in people between the ages of 10-19. This shows that bone cancer commonly occurs in people at a young age, from early pre-teens to the late teens and young adults.
But in patients older that 40 it is also found they develop Paget disease, which is the abnormal formation of bone cells, which makes them more likely to develop bone cancer. The bone cancer that is most common in people that are 40 years of age and older is Chondrosarcoma
(Sources: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/type/bone-cancer/about/risks-and-causes-of-bone-cancer
How bone cancer is diagnosed
- Needle Biopsy
- Bone Scan
- Computerized tomography (CT)
- Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
- Positron emission tomography (PET)
- X-ray