Bone Cancer Treatment - Signs, Symptoms, Treatment

Surgery is the usual method of treatment for bone cancer and in order to determine if the patient actually has malignant tumors growing in their bone tissue and assess whether or not a surgery is necessary, imaging tests must be performed.  This may include X-rays, bone scans, CAT scans, MRI, and/or PET scans.  These techniques allow the physician to take a closer and more in-depth look at the area of interest to determine if the area of interest is infected and to what extent.  Biopsy, the removal of a sample of the suspected tissue for further analysis, may be done to determine whether the tissue in question is cancerous.  This procedure usually involves using a needle to bore a small hole in the bone and take portion of tissue.  Blood tests are also an effective way to determine if bone tissue is cancerous but it is not as reliable as other methods.  It is important that the patient speaks to his/her doctor in order to determine if surgery is necessary or if other treatments are sufficient. 

Other possible methods of treatment include: Chemotherapy (using anticancer drugs to kill the malignant tissue), Radiation therapy (using intense X-rays to destroy cancerous cells), and Cryosurgery (freezing offending cells with liquid nitrogen).               

Surgical removal of the malignant tissue is the primary form of treatment for bone cancer and often takes different forms depending on the severity of the infection.  The goal of surgery is to make sure to remove all cancerous tissue and, with severe cases, this may include complete amputation of limbs.  It is sometimes possible to perform reconstructive surgery in these cases to rescue some of what was lost.  Whether the surgery involves a removal of a small amount of tissue or a complete amputation, these procedures are performed under anesthesia. 

Due to the various way in which bone cancer can manifest in patients and the many areas it can grow, the surgical procedure caries greatly between individual patients and requires the expertise of specialists to determine the protocol of the surgery and its details. 

Oftentimes, surgeries done meant to save limbs require the implantation of prosthetics to assist the remaining portions of the limb in normal functions and mobility.

Bone cancer surgery is an invasive surgery and, therefore, comes with the risks generally associated with such a procedure.  This includes: infection, excessive blood loss, pain, and numbness and/or stiffness.  As with most cancers, there is also the risk that the cancerous tissue may persist after surgery which is why it is advised that the patient receive regular check-ups.  With surgeries that affect limbs, there may be a permanent change to how the limb performs in the future.