Bone Cancer
Integrative Treatment Options for All Stages of Bone Cancer
Bone Cancer Holistic Treatment Center
Primary bone cancer is a rare type of cancer that develops in bone and is most common in children and teenagers. It accounts for less than 1 percent of all annual cancer diagnoses, with an estimated 2,160 men and boys and 1,750 women and girls diagnosed each year. Types of bone cancer include osteosarcoma, Ewing sarcoma, and chondrosarcoma.
What Is Bone Cancer?
Primary bone cancer is a type of cancer that develops in any bone of the body. Most often, it begins in the pelvis or the longest bones in the legs and arms. Bone cancer is rare, and noncancerous bone tumors are more common.
Bone cancer does not include cancers that grow elsewhere in the body, such as the liver, and spread to the bones. This process is called metastasizing. Metastasized cancers are named according to where they originated.
Types of Bone Cancer
Some bone cancers are most common in children and teenagers, while others are more likely to affect adults. Bone cancers are categorized according to the type of cell that first becomes cancerous. Types of bone cancer include:
- Osteosarcoma, which is the most common type of bone cancer with a peak incidence between the ages of 10 and 14. Osteosarcoma generally forms in the leg or arm, and in some rare cases, it develops outside of the bone. This is called extraskeletal osteosarcoma.
- Chondrosarcoma, which primarily affects adults over the age of 40. This cancer usually grows in the legs, arms, or pelvis and causes cells to produce cartilage.
- Ewing sarcoma, which tends to develop in children and young adults. Ewing sarcoma tumors typically begin in the legs, arms, or pelvis.
What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Bone Cancer?
The most frequently reported sign or symptom of bone cancer is pain in the joints and bones. This pain may worsen at night or during physical activity. In addition to bone pain, symptoms can include:
- Bone fracture
- Difficulty with movement
- Localized swelling around the affected area of the bone
- Numbness in the affected limb
- Tenderness in the bone
- Unexplained tiredness and fatigue
- Unexplained weight loss
What Are the Risk Factors for Bone Cancer?
The cause of bone cancer is unknown. However, researchers have uncovered several risk factors that may increase a person’s likelihood of developing bone cancer. These include the following:
- Genetic syndromes passed through families, including hereditary retinoblastoma and Li-Fraumeni syndrome
- Paget's disease of bone, affects the body’s healthy recycling process where new bone gradually replaces old bone
- Exposure to significant doses of radiation, including those administered in the treatment of other cancers through radiation therapy
How Is Bone Cancer Staged?
The stages of bone cancer are defined by Roman numerals from 0 to IV (4). The lower the stage, the smaller and less aggressive the tumor. The higher the stage, the larger the tumor. At stage IV, the bone cancer has spread to distant areas of the body.
Several factors influence bone cancer’s stage, including:
- The tumor’s size
- How fast the tumor is growing
- The number of bones affected by the cancer
- Whether the cancer has spread to other areas of the body
The stage of bone cancer will help doctors determine how best to treat the cancer.
How Is Bone Cancer Conventionally Treated?
Depending on the stage of the bone cancer, a conventional oncologist may employ one or more treatment therapies. Surgical intervention, for example, aims to remove the cancerous tumor. Lost bone is replaced with healthy bone from another area of the body or with an artificial bone made of plastic and metal. Bone cancer tumors that are large or situated in a complicated or difficult-to-access part of the bone may result in the partial or total removal of the limb, called amputation.
Chemotherapy is another conventional treatment pathway in which toxic anti-cancer drugs are delivered intravenously. Chemotherapy is not effective for all types of bone cancer, particularly chondrosarcoma.
Radiation therapy uses powerful rays similar to X-rays to kill cancer cells with radiation. Radiation therapy may be used in conjunction with surgery to shrink the tumor before it is removed.
For some patients, bone cancer comes back following treatment. This is called a recurrence and generally happens within five years of the initial treatment. Treating a recurrence may include surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy. If the cancer is aggressive or advanced, treatment may focus on alleviating symptoms.
How We Treat Bone Cancer Holistically
A bone cancer diagnosis is not welcome news, and it’s natural for you and your loved ones to feel stress, anxiety, sadness, and dread. Depending on the type and stage of the bone cancer, as well as your overall health and personal preferences, conventional treatment options can be limited in efficacy. What’s more, they can detract from your quality of life, preventing you from enjoying time with friends and family.
Holistic therapies and alternative oncological treatments offer a pathway of hope, vitality, and wellness. At Brio-Medical, we treat you as an individual, focusing on more than the physical effects of your disease. We support your mental, emotional, and spiritual health, too, leveraging cutting-edge therapies that target cancer’s natural weaknesses. Our treatments are non-toxic and non-invasive, empowering your body’s healing processes to do what they do best.
If you’d like to learn more about our holistic treatment options for bone cancer, please get in touch with our patient care coordinators today.
Resources:
- Biermann, J Sybil et al. “Bone cancer.” Journal of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network : JNCCN vol. 11,6 (2013): 688-723. doi:10.6004/jnccn.2013.0088
- Ferguson, Jason L, and Sean P Turner. “Bone Cancer: Diagnosis and Treatment Principles.” American family physician vol. 98,4 (2018): 205-213.
- Keil, Lukas. “Bone Tumors: Primary Bone Cancers.” FP essentials vol. 493 (2020): 22-26.
- Misaghi, Amirhossein et al. “Osteosarcoma: a comprehensive review.” SICOT-J vol. 4 (2018): 12. doi:10.1051/sicotj/2017028
- Weinschenk, Robert C et al. “Chondrosarcoma.” The Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons vol. 29,13 (2021): 553-562. doi:10.5435/JAAOS-D-20-01188
