What Is Bone Cancer?
Bone cancer is when cells in your bones grow out of control. Usually, when you have bone cancer, it comes from another cancer that has spread to your bones or metastatic bone cancer. But sometimes, the cancer cells start in your bones. In that case, it's called primary bone cancer. Primary bone cancer is very rare; only about 1% of all cancers are primary bone cancers.
There are four types of primary bone cancer which vary in the people they tend to affect and treatments. The types include:
- Osteosarcoma. This type generally affects children and teens more than adults. It may be fast growing and more likely to spread.
- Chondrosarcoma. This type generally affects adults older than 40 years. It tends to grow slowly and is less likely to spread.
- Chordoma. This type generally affects adults older than 50 years. It may spread easily to your brain and spinal cord, so it can be challenging to treat.
- Ewing's sarcoma. This type generally affects children and teens. It tends to grow fast and is more likely to spread.
The earliest symptom of bone cancer is unusual pain or swelling in or around the affected area of your bone. Your doctor will refer you for imaging tests, such as X-rays to diagnose you. The mainstay of treatment is surgery to remove the tumor, but you may also take chemotherapy and targeted therapies.
Keep reading to learn more about the types of bone cancer, some of the treatment options, and living as a bone cancer survivor.
Bone Cancer Types
A couple types of cancer can grow in your bones. Primary bone cancer is cancer that starts in the cells of your bones. This type is rare; only about 1% of all cancers are primary bone cancer.
More often, cancer in your bones starts in other cells of your body and spreads to your bones. This is known as secondary or metastatic bone cancer.
Primary bone cancers are broadly known as sarcomas. Sarcomas are cancers that start in your bone, cartilage, fat, muscles, blood vessels, fibrous tissues, or other connective or supportive tissues. These sarcomas are further classified by the cells where they start.
There are four types of primary bone cancer, including:
Osteosarcoma starts in the cells that build your bones called osteoblasts. It can happen in any of your bones, especially if you're an older adult. But in children, teens, and younger adults, it often starts in your upper arm bone close to your shoulder or your leg bone close to your knee. It tends to grow fast and spread to other parts of your body, such as your lungs.
It's most common in kids and teens aged between 10 and 19 years. And it affects boys and people assigned male at birth more often than girls and people assigned female at birth. It's more common in Black children and other racial or ethnic groups than in White children. But in adults, it's more common in White people.
You may have a raised risk of osteosarcoma if you have Paget's disease of bone or if you have had radiation exposure to your bones.
Chondrosarcoma
Chondrosarcoma generally starts in your cartilage cells. Cartilage is a connective tissue that protects the ends of your bones and lines your joints. Chondrosarcoma often starts in the cartilage in your pelvis, upper leg, and shoulder. It tends to grow slowly, although sometimes it may grow fast and spread to other parts of your body. A rare type of chondrosarcoma called extra-skeletal chondrosarcoma doesn't start in your cartilage. Instead, it starts in the muscle, fat, fibrous tissue, or blood vessels in the upper part of your arms or legs.
Chondrosarcoma mostly affects people who are older than 40 yeras, and your risk of it raises as you get older.
Ewing's sarcoma usually starts in your bones, but it can sometimes start in your muscle, fat, fibrous tissue, blood vessels, or other supporting tissues. It can affect any bone, but it usually affects your pelvis, legs, or ribs. It tends to grow fast and spread, often to your lungs.
Ewing's sarcoma generally affects kids and teens younger than 19 years. It's more common in boys and people assigned male at birth than in girls and people assigned female at birth. It's also more common in White people than people in other racial or ethnic groups, specifically Black children and children of Asian ancestry.
Chordoma
This is a very rare bone cancer that starts in your spine or the base of your skull. About 1%-4% of primary bone tumors are chordomas. A little over a third of cases start in the base of your spine (sacrum) or the base of your skull. Slightly less than a third of cases start in your mobile spine, which includes the bones in your neck, mid back, and lower back.
These cancers are most likely to affect people aged 50-80 years, but about 5% of cases are in children. They're also more likely in men and people assigned male at birth than in women and people assigned female at birth.
Chordomas are typically slow growing cancers, but they can easily grow into your spinal cord and brain, which makes them challenging to treat. And in about 30%-40% of cases, they will also spread to your lungs, lymph nodes, liver, skin, or other bones.
Secondary or metastatic bone cancer
Secondary or metastatic bone cancer is much more common than primary bone cancer. Metastatic bone cancer is cancer that started elsewhere in your body and then spread to your bones.
Most cancers can spread to your bones, but certain cancers are particularly likely to metastasize to your bones, including:
- Breast cancer
- Prostate cancer
- Lung cancer
Benign bone tumors
Tumors are abnormal groups of cells that multiply and grow faster than usual or don't die off when they should. Tumors can be benign or malignant. Benign tumors may cause symptoms and grow bigger, but they usually don't spread to nearby tissues or other parts of your body. Because they don't spread, they aren't considered cancer. However, some types of benign bone tumors have a low chance of becoming malignant over time.
Benign bone tumors are more common in people younger than 30 years. Most are seen in kids and teens because their skeleton is still growing and developing. Generally, once their bones stop growing in length, these benign tumors will stop growing too. In girls and people assigned female at birth, this is usually between 14 and 16 years. In boys and people assigned male at birth, it's usually between 16 and 19 years.
Benign bone tumors are relatively rare, but a few of the more common types include:
Osteochondroma
This is the most commonly diagnosed benign bone tumor. It's caused by overgrowth of the cartilage at the end of your bones called the growth plate. Your growth plates are where new bone is formed, and they're generally at the end of your long bones, such as your upper arm (humerus) and leg (femur) bones. Osteochondroma most often affects people aged between 10 and 30 years.
Enchondroma
Enchondroma is a tumor in the cartilage in the center of your bones. It's the most common tumor that affects the hand; it's usually found in the bigger bones in your hands or feet. But it can also develop in your upper arm bone (humerus), upper thigh bone (femur), and shin bone (tibia). Enchondromas usually don't cause any symptoms, and you may not know you have it until you get an X-ray for another reason. It usually affects people aged between 10 and 40 years.
Non-ossifying fibroma
This is the most common benign bone tumor in children. Experts estimate that about 20%-40% of healthy kids have one of these. It generally starts at the end of your thigh bone (femur) or shin bone (tibia) at your knee, although it sometimes affects your other long bones.
Non-ossifying fibromas are kind of like scar tissue on the bone, but they don't usually cause symptoms. Most people never know they have or had it. It will grow while your bones are growing, and then go away on its own once they stop.
Chondroblastoma
This tumor may also be called a calcifying giant cell tumor or Codman tumor. This is a rare type of benign bone tumor that usually starts at the growth plates toward the end of your thigh (femur), upper arm (humerus), or shin (tibia). It usually affects teens and young adults aged between 11 and 25 years. However, about 25% of cases are diagnosed in kids younger than 10 years. It's more common in boys and people assigned male at birth than in girls and people assigned female at birth.
Chondroblastoma can cause joint pain, swelling around your joints, discomfort in your bones, and muscle weakness near the tumor. Because it can cause bone and muscle damage, it's almost always removed during surgery. Damage to your bones can be repaired using a bone graft from another area of your body.
Osteoid osteoma
About 10% of benign bone tumors are osteoid osteomas. These tumors are generally smaller than one inch across and affect your shin bone (tibia) and thigh bone (femur). But it can also form in the bones of your arms, hands, feet, ankles, and spine. It's most common in people aged 5-25 years, and it's about three times more common in boys and people assigned male at birth than in girls and people assigned female a birth.
The main symptom of an osteoid osteoma is dull, achy pain that gets worse at night. And resting generally doesn't help with the pain. You may also have swelling and stiffness in the joint closest to the tumor and bone deformities, such as one leg that's shorter than the other or a side-to-side curve in your spine (scoliosis).
Osteoid osteomas often go away on their own after you stop growing. Your doctor may suggest you take a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), such as ibuprofen or naproxen, to help ease your pain. NSAIDs may also help shrink the tumor. If this doesn't help, your doctor may suggest you have surgery to remove it.
Osteoblastoma
This is a rare tumor related to osteoid osteoma. The difference is that osteoblastoma tumors tend to be larger than osteoma, and they may continue to grow, whereas osteomas don't.
Osteoblastoma breaks down healthy bone tissue and replaces it with a tissue called osteoid, which is weaker than bone and more prone to break. Osteoblastomas can grow on any bone, but they are more likely in your spine, hands, and legs. Anyone can develop it, but It's most common in people aged 10-30 years. Boys and people assigned male at birth are about twice as likely to get it as girls and people assigned female at birth.
As with osteoid osteoma, the main symptom is pain that gets worse at night. Treatment is usually surgery to remove the tumor.
Giant cell tumor
This is a rare benign tumor that tends to grow fast. It usually starts at the end of bones near your joints, for instance, in your knee or elbow. It sometimes also grows in your breastbone (sternum) or pelvis. It mostly affects people aged 20-40 years. And it's slightly more common in women and people assigned female at birth than in men and people assigned male at birth.
Symptoms vary from person to person but generally include a visible lump and swelling, pain, and limited movement of the joint closest to the tumor. Treatment is usually with surgery to remove the tumor or radiation therapy if you aren't fit enough to have surgery.
Bone Cancer Causes
No matter where it starts in your body, cancer is caused by changes (or mutations) in certain genes that cause some of your cells to grow and multiply out of control. Usually, your body has ways of shutting down cells that have these kinds of changes. But when you get cancer, it's because you've developed mutations in those genes that help control that shutdown process.
It generally takes a long time for you to develop enough mutations for that shutdown process to stop working, which is why your risk of cancer goes up as you get older. Experts don't know exactly why people develop these mutations. But it's probably due to a combination of risk factors, such as:
- Environmental exposures you've had over your lifetime. For instance, radiation exposure can raise your risk of bone cancer.
- Mutations you may have inherited from your parents. For instance, certain inherited condition, like Li-Fraumeni syndrome, raise your risk of bone cancer.
- Medical conditions that may affect how fast your cells grow and multiply. For instance, Paget's disease of bone causes abnormal development of new bone cells and can raise your risk of some types of bone cancer.
Bone Cancer Risk Factors
Some factors that may make you more likely to get bone cancer include:
Older age
As you get older, your risk of cancers that may spread to your bones goes up. And your risk of certain primary bone cancers, such as chondrosarcoma and chordoma, goes up as you get older.
Having radiation therapy, chemotherapy, or a stem cell transplant for cancer treatment
Osteosarcoma in particular seems to be more common in people who have had treatment with high-dose external radiation therapy or chemotherapy with an alkylating agent, especially as children. Alkylating agents are common chemotherapy medicines that help keep cancer cells from multiplying. They're used to treat different cancers, such as lung, breast, and ovarian cancers, as well as leukemias, lymphomas, and sarcomas. Examples include:
- Carboplatin
- Chlorambucil
- Cisplatin
- Cyclophosphamide
- Mechlorethamine
- Melphalan
- Oxaliplatin
About 5% of children who have had a myeloablative hematopoietic stem cell transplant as cancer treatment may develop osteosarcoma, as well.
Inherited conditions
Some conditions that run in your family may raise your risk of primary bone cancer, including:
- Hereditary retinoblastoma, which causes cancer in the eye but also raises your risk of osteosarcoma
- Li-Fraumeni syndrome, which raises your risk of a number of cancers, including osteosarcoma and chondrosarcoma
- Tuberous sclerosis complex, which can cause benign tumors in your kidneys, brain, eyes, heart, lungs, and skin and raise your risk of chordoma
- Paget's disease of bone, which is a long-term condition that causes your body to break down and regrow bone faster than is typical; it can raise your risk of osteosarcoma
Being especially tall
Kids who are taller than average or very tall may have a raised risk of osteosarcoma. Experts think this may be because when you're tall, cells in the growth plate of your long bones multiply more than is typical. This extra growth may raise the risk that you develop mutations in those cells.
Bone Cancer Symptoms
You may or may not have symptoms of bone cancer. Sometimes, your doctor only finds it when you have an X-ray for another problem, such as a sprain. If you do have symptoms, it's usually persistent or unusual pain or swelling in or around the affected area of your bone. In the case of Ewing sarcoma or chondrosarcoma, your pain may be worse at night.
Other symptoms vary depending on which type of bone cancer you have, but they include:
- A lump on a bone in your arms, legs, chest, or pelvis that may feel soft and warm
- Discoloration of your skin that shows you have inflammation near the tumor
- If you have a tumor in an arm bone, pain in that arm when you lift something
- If you have a tumor in a leg bone, limping
- If the tumor is near a joint, stiffness or limited movement in that joint
- Unexplained fevers that may not go away
- Unexplained broken bones, especially if they happen without an injury
- If the tumor has spread outside of your bone, fatigue and unexpected weight loss
If you have a chordoma, you may get nervous system symptoms as the tumor puts pressure on parts of your spinal cord or brain. Nervous system symptoms include:
- Double vision
- Blurry vision
- Headaches
- Numbness or pain in your face
- Trouble holding your pee or poop (urinary and fecal incontinence) or other issues with your urinary system or bowels
- Low back or tailbone pain
Symptoms of bone cancer in legs
If you have symptoms of bone cancer in your leg, it's usually pain or tenderness; a soft, warm lump; discoloration of your skin; stiffness in your knee or ankle; limping; or an unexplained broken bone in your leg.
What does bone cancer feel like?
You may or may not be able to feel it if you have bone cancer. If you do, you'll usually feel pain around the tumor in your bone. The pain may come and go at first and become more constant over time. Or your pain may get worse when you use that bone. For instance, if you have a tumor in an arm bone, your arm may hurt when you lift something. If you have Ewing sarcoma or chondrosarcoma, your pain may be worse at night. If the tumor weakens your bone, you may have intense pain if the bone breaks. In this case, you may have sudden, severe pain in a bone that had been tender for a while before that.
Bone Cancer Diagnosis
Your doctor will usually start by asking about your personal and family medical history. They will ask about your symptoms and do a physical exam. They will usually have you do some laboratory and imaging tests to help them with their diagnosis. Tests may include:
X-rays
These are usually the first imaging test your doctor will recommend. It can show where a tumor is, how big it is, and what it's shaped like. If your X-ray shows you may have a tumor on your bone, they will likely have you do specialized imaging tests to help them find out more about it.
These specialized imaging tests may include:
Bone scan (also called bone scintigraphy). This can show if you have damage or abnormal spots in your bone. During this test, a small amount of radioactive material is injected into your vein. It travels through your blood to collect in your bones. The technician can then use a special camera to form a picture of your bones.
CT scan. This test uses a computer hooked up to an X-ray machine to make a series of detailed pictures of your bone.
MRI scan. This test uses a computer hooked up to a powerful magnet to make detailed pictures of your bone without using X-rays.
PET scan. This can show your doctor if you have cancer cells in your body and where they are. In this test, a technician injects radioactive glucose (sugar) into your vein. Your cells use glucose to help them grow and divide. Cancer cells use more glucose than healthy cells because they grow faster than healthy cells. So a special camera can help them find areas of your body using a lot more glucose than other areas.
Angiogram. In this test, your doctor gets an X-ray or computer image of your blood vessels. Tumors generally have a lot more blood vessels going to them than other tissues.
Aside from imaging, other tests your doctor may suggest include:
Biopsy. This test can confirm the diagnosis. Your doctor will likely refer you to a specialist experienced in treating bone tumors called an orthopedic oncologist for this test. This is because where and how the biopsy is performed can affect your later options for surgery. Your oncologist will take a sample of your tumor with a needle or through a cut in your skin. A pathologist will then look at the tissue or cells under a microscope. They can tell from this if your tumor is benign or if it's a primary or secondary cancer. They may also get an idea of how fast the tumor is growing.
Blood tests. Your doctor can look at the levels of two enzymes in your blood: alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Lots of things can cause high levels of ALP and LDH, so your doctor can't use this to diagnose you. But it can be a clue because your ALP and LDH levels may be very high if you have osteosarcoma or Ewing sarcoma.
Bone Cancer Staging
Staging is the process your doctor will use to figure out if your cancer has spread, and if it has spread, how far. This helps your doctor advise you on the most effective treatment strategies based on your specific situation. They will use the results from all your tests to do this.
There are a couple of different staging systems your doctor can use: the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS) staging system and the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) tumor, node, and metastasis (TNM) system. You may be familiar with the AJCC TNM system because that is the system most commonly used to stage other cancers. But the system that many surgeons find most helpful is the MSTS system. Surgery is the foundation of treatment for most bone cancers, so we'll explore that system here.
The MSTS system is based on these three pieces of information:
- Whether the tumor has metastasized. This can be to lymph nodes near the tumor or other organs, such as your lungs or liver. If your tumor hasn't spread, you will see M0 on a pathology report. If your tumor has spread, you will see M1 on a pathology report. If your tumor has metastasized, your cancer will be classified as stage III under the MSTS system.
- Cancer grade. Under the MSTS system, cancer grade is the second most important piece of information. It's based on what your tumor cells look like under the microscope and tells your doctor how likely your cancer is to grow and spread. It will be either low grade (G1 on a pathology report) or high grade (G2 on a pathology report). Low-grade cancers look more like healthy cells under the microscope and are less likely to grow and spread. High-grade cancers look less like healthy cells and are more likely to grow and spread.
- Extent of your primary tumor. Bone cancers will be classified as either intracompartmental (T1 on a pathology report) or extracompartmental (T2 on a pathology report). Intracompartmental tumors are those that haven't grown outside your bone. For this reason, your doctor may also call it a "localized" tumor. Extracompartmental tumors have grown outside the bone into other tissues that are close to the tumor.
These three pieces of information are combined to classify your cancer into a stage. Under the MSTS system, there are three stages:
Stage I bone cancer
All low-grade bone tumors are classified as stage I under the MSTS system. If it hasn't grown outside your bone into nearby tissues, it'll be classified as stage IA. If it has grown outside your bone, it'll be classified as stage IB.
Stage II bone cancer
All high-grade bone tumors are classified as stage II under the MSTS system. If it hasn't grown outside your bone into nearby tissues, it'll be classified as stage IIA. If it has grown outside your bone, it'll be classified as stage IIB.
Stage III or metastatic bone cancer
No matter the grade or extent of your tumor, if your doctor finds metastases, it'll be classified as stage III.
Bone Cancer Treatment
Your treatment options will depend on several things, including:
- What type of bone cancer you have
- Which bone it started in
- Your cancer stage
- Your overall health and life stage
- Your preferences
You will usually need a combination of different treatments, including:
Surgery for bone cancer
Surgery to remove the tumor is the most important treatment option for most types of bone cancer. If possible, the biopsy to confirm your diagnosis and the surgery to remove your tumor should be planned together. This is because where and how your biopsy is done can affect your surgical options during your treatment.
Preferably, both the biopsy and the surgery will be done by an orthopedic surgeon. These specialists have the best knowledge base to help minimize the chance you'll need a more extensive surgery to remove your tumor.
The goal of surgery is to remove all the cancer. Your surgeon will do this by removing the tumor plus some of the normal tissue that surrounds it. So, the type of surgery you have will depend on the size of your tumor and where it is in your body.
If you have a bone tumor in your arms or legs, your surgeon will generally recommend one of the following:
Curettage (intralesional excision)
This is an option for some types of bone tumors that are unlikely to spread or come back after treatment. During this procedure, your surgeon will scrape as much of the tumor as they can out of your bone with an instrument called a curette. After that, they may treat your nearby bone with medicines or extreme cold to kill any remaining cancer cells. They can fill the hole left after curettage with a bone cement.
Limb salvage (or limb-sparing) surgery
Most people with bone cancer in their arms and legs can have limb salvage surgery, but it depends on where the tumor is, how big it is, and if it has grown into any nearby tissues. During this procedure, your surgeon will remove the part of your bone with the tumor. Their goal will be to keep as much of your limb's function and appearance as possible. They will replace the section of bone that they removed with a bone graft, an internal prosthesis (such as a metal rod), or a combination of bone graft and prosthesis.
If your bone tumor is large or has grown into other tissues nearby, it may not be possible for your surgeon to completely remove the tumor and keep enough of your limb's function. In this case, they may recommend removing all or part of that limb with an amputation.
Your surgeon will plan your amputation based on imaging tests you've had before surgery and guidance from a pathologist at the time of your surgery. They will attempt to leave enough muscle, bone, and skin so that you can be fitted with an external prosthesis after you've healed. If the tumor is too large to allow for that, they may fit an internal prosthesis into your remaining bone, which can then connect to an external prosthesis.
In most cases, you will also need reconstructive surgery, which will help you regain some function in a lost limb and get you ready for your prosthesis.
If your bone cancer has spread, you may also need surgery to remove this tissue. Bone cancer most often metastasizes to your lungs, but it can spread to many organs, including your liver, kidneys, and brain. Whether or not you have surgery to remove these depends on many factors, including your general health.
If you have a bone tumor in your pelvis, lower jaw, spine, skull, or a joint, surgery may not be an option or you may need other treatments before you have surgery. This will usually be with chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or targeted therapy.
Chemotherapy for bone cancer
Chemotherapy medicines help to kill cancer cells in your body. Some types of bone tumors, such as chondrosarcoma and chordoma, don't respond well to chemotherapy. But it can be an important part of treatment for osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcoma. In some cases where your tumor is big or in a hard-to-reach place, you may get chemotherapy to shrink the tumor before you get surgery.
Most of the time, you will get two or more chemotherapy medicines together. Some of the most common chemo medicines used for bone cancer include:
- Cisplatin
- Cyclophosphamide
- Doxorubicin
- Etoposide
- Ifosfamide
- Methotrexate
- Vincristine
Radiation therapy
Radiation therapy isn't used that often for bone cancers because bone cells are resistant to radiation. It's used most often to treat Ewing sarcoma. It uses high-energy radiation beams or particles to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. You may get radiation therapy using:
- External beam radiation therapy
- Intensity-modulated therapy
- Stereotactic radiosurgery
- Proton beam radiation therapy
You may get radiation therapy after surgery to kill any cancer cells left after surgery or in place of surgery if you can't have surgery or your doctor doesn't think the tumor can be removed completely with surgery.
Other bone cancer treatments
Rehabilitation
Whether you've had limb salvage surgery or an amputation, you will need to have rehabilitation therapy afterward. This is often the most challenging part of treatment. If possible, try to meet with your rehabilitation specialist before you have surgery so you understand what the process is going to be like.
Oddly enough, people who've had a limb amputation often have a less intense time in rehabilitation than people who've had limb salvage surgery. For instance, on average, it takes about three to six months to relearn how to walk after a leg amputation. In contrast, it takes about a year for people to relearn to walk after limb salvage surgery to their leg.
Even if you've had limb salvage surgery, it's very important you follow your specialist's recommendations. If you don't attend your rehab sessions and do the exercises they recommend, you may wind up with a nonfunctional limb that may need to be amputated anyway.
Targeted therapy
Targeted therapies are medicines that target some of the genetic, protein, or other changes in or around cancer cells to help stop or slow their growth. They're most important for bone cancers that don't respond well to chemotherapy, such as chordoma.
The most commonly used targeted therapies for bone cancer are kinase inhibitors. You may get a kinase inhibitor if you have a chordoma that has spread or come back after previous treatment or an advanced chondrosarcoma. Examples of kinase inhibitors include:
- Dasatinib (Sprycel)
- Erlotinib (Tarceva)
- Imatinib (Gleevec)
- Lapatinib (Tykerb)
- Pazopanib (Votrient)
- Regorafenib (Strivarga)
- Sorafenib (Nexavar)
- Sunitinib (Sutent)
Clinical trials for bone cancer
Clinical trials are studies for drug companies to test new treatments for specific conditions. Enrolling in a clinical trial can get you access to brand new treatments that aren't yet available on the market. This can expand your treatment options if your cancer hasn't responded well to your treatments so far. And in some cases, the company that is studying the new treatment (the study sponsor) may pay for part or all of the medical care and expenses related to your cancer that you have while you're enrolled in the trial.
However, as with all treatments and procedures, there are risks to enrolling in a clinical trial. For instance, if your trial is blinded, neither you nor your doctor will know which treatment you're getting. It could be the new treatment, or it could be an old treatment they know works for most people with your condition. This is why it's important to talk to your doctor about your options and understand your own comfort level with the risks of enrolling in a clinical trial.
Your doctor may suggest a clinical trial they are aware of or are participating in for you to consider joining. But you can also use online search tools for clinical trials at the websites for the National Cancer Institute, the National Institutes of Health, or the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. You can also contact advocacy and support groups, such as the American Cancer Society, to find out if they are aware of trials that match your needs.
Living With Bone Cancer
It can be challenging living with a cancer diagnosis, but there are ways you can help keep yourself healthy as you go through treatment and afterward. Consider the following:
- Keep up with your follow-up appointments and tests. You will usually need to have tests done every three to six months for the first few years after your treatment. After that, the risk that your cancer may come back goes down. So your doctor will probably recommend testing less often.
- Learn as much about your cancer as you can so you can feel confident making decisions about your care.
- Ask your doctor about a survivorship care plan. This plan can include the schedule for your follow-up exams and appointments, a list of possible side effects from your treatment, and diet and exercise recommendations.
- Keep copies of all your medical records in case you need to move or change doctors. You can order records from any former doctors, but they probably won't have as many details as you have. Try to keep good records while you're going through treatment.
- Take good care of your general health by eating a healthy diet, getting to and staying at a healthy weight, staying physically active, avoiding smoking, and limiting the amount of alcohol you drink.
- Reach out to your support network when you need help. Your family and friends can help provide practical support, like helping you get to all your appointments. But they can also help emotionally support you. And consider joining a support group or going to see a therapist for more emotional support.
Bone Cancer Outlook
Is bone cancer curable?
Yes, if you catch bone cancer before it has a chance to spread to your other organs, it can be cured. This is why it's important to follow-up with your doctor when you have any symptoms that worry you. The earlier you catch it, the easier your treatment process will be and the more likely you are to be cured when you go through treatment.
Bone cancer survival rates
Survival rates depend on many factors, such as your age, your overall health, the type of bone cancer you have, and the stage of your cancer. Doctors sometimes use a relative survival rate to give you an idea of your outcome. But these are estimates based on large numbers of people who had a specific cancer at a specific stage. This won't tell you what your specific chances of survival are. This is why it's important to talk to your cancer care team about what to expect in your situation.
In general, the outlook for primary bone cancer is good. For instance, the five-year relative survival rate for all primary bone cancers diagnosed at any stage is about 67%. This means that 67% of people who have treatment for primary bone cancer, regardless of the kind of cancer and the stage, will be alive five years after they're diagnosed. Of course, people who are diagnosed before the cancer has spread tend to do better. But new treatments are developed all the time, so people who are diagnosed today may have even better outcomes than these numbers suggest.
Takeaways
Bone cancer that starts in your bones is called primary bone cancer. It's rare compared with bone cancer that starts elsewhere and spreads to your bones (called secondary or metastatic bone cancer). There are four types of primary bone cancer. Two of these types, chondrosarcoma and chordoma, tend to affect adults older than 40-50 years. The other two types, Ewing's sarcoma and osteosarcoma, tend to affect children and teens more often. Regardless of type, the most common symptom is persistent or unusual pain or swelling in or around the affected area of your bone. Treatment usually involves surgery to remove the tumor and may include chemotherapy and targeted therapy.
Bone Cancer FAQs
What are the warning signs of bone cancer?
The most obvious signs and symptoms of bone cancer are bone pain and swelling in the area. If you have these symptoms, it's important to go see your doctor to get checked out, especially if you've had them for a couple of weeks. Most of the time, these symptoms don't suggest anything serious. But if they do have a serious cause, your treatment will be easier if you get started without delay.
What is the most common bone tumor?
The most common primary bone cancer is osteosarcoma.
