Bone Cancer Awareness Month

As kids, every night before bed our mothers made sure that we had enough milk in our system to keep our bones strong. Somehow our mothers knew that bones support our body and allow us to move. From protecting the brain, heart, and other organs from injury to granting us the freedom to be physically active it’s a living, growing tissue which evidently controls many aspects of our lives. As adults, we try to squeeze in some sort of exercise, good diet and getting enough sleep to avoid any health issues that might plummet in front of us. However, even after enough surveillance, we cannot avoid possibilities that are bound to happen.

Bone cancer is an uncommon type of cancer that begins when cells in the bone start to grow out of control. Most of the time when an adult with cancer is told they have cancer in the bones, the doctor is talking about cancer that started somewhere else and then spread to the bones. This is called bone metastasis.

Bone is the primary most important part of the human body; it’s quite literally the backbone of your quality lifestyle which we humans aim to live every single day. So, let’s come together to honour Bone Cancer Awareness Month and explore possibilities that can help in prevention.

Signs and Symptoms:
● Persistent bone pain that gets worse over time and continues into the night.
● Swelling and redness (inflammation) over a bone, can make movement difficult if the affected bone is near a joint.
● A noticeable lump over a bone.
● A weak bone that breaks (fractures) more easily than normal.
● Problems moving around, for example, walking with a limp.
● Pain caused by bone cancer usually begins with a feeling of tenderness in the affected bone.

Risk Factors:
Risk factors are anything that may increase the chance of developing a disease.
● Inherited genetic syndromes. Certain rare genetic syndromes passed through families increase the risk of bone cancer.
● Paget’s disease of bone. Most commonly occurring in older adults, Paget’s disease of bone can increase the risk of bone cancer developing later.
● Radiation therapy for cancer. Exposure to large doses of radiation, such as those given during radiation therapy for cancer, increases the risk of bone cancer in the future.
● Having certain types of bone or cartilage tumours: The cancerous cells producing cartilage usually occur in the pelvis, legs, or arms in middle-aged and other adults.
● Bone Marrow Transplant: As effective as BMT (Bone Marrow Transplant) is, it has long-term side- effects on lung and bone damage that can trigger cancer.

Treatment Options for Bone Cancer:
Now, let’s take a look at different forms of treatment to further move along the journey towards HEALING.

● Surgery
Surgery to remove the cancerous area of bone is an important part of treatment for bone cancer, although it’s often combined with other treatments.

● Limb-sparing surgery
Limb-sparing surgery is usually possible when cancer has not spread beyond the bone, and the bone can be reconstructed.

● Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the use of anticancer drugs to kill cancer cells. Patients who have Ewing sarcoma (newly diagnosed and recurrent) or newly diagnosed osteosarcoma usually receive a combination of anticancer drugs before undergoing surgery.

● Mifamurtide:
For people with a type of bone cancer called osteosarcoma, a medicine called mifamurtide may be used alongside other treatments.

● Radiation Therapy:
Also known as radiotherapy it involves the use of high-energy x-rays to kill cancer cells. This treatment may be used in combination with surgery.

(Almost 75 out of 100 people (almost 75%) survive their cancer for 1 year or more. more than 50 out of 100 people (more than 50%) survive their cancer for 5 years or more.)

Before we conclude this sheet of cognizance on Bone Cancer it’s crucial to be familiar with the fact that Bone cancer can begin in any bone in the body, but it most commonly affects the pelvis or the long bones in the arms and legs. Bone cancer is rare, making up less than 1 per cent of all cancers. In fact, noncancerous bone tumours are much more common than cancerous ones.

People might get overwhelmed by all the listed information and tips on cancers as it is a very light-hearted pill to swallow. However, with the right medical attention and awareness, it’s a phase that will hopefully pass before you know it.

If you or anyone you know suffers from severe bone aches which come and go, kindly visit a professional. Well, it’s highly unlikely to be bone cancer, it still needs further investigation, to say the least.

STAY AWARE, STAY SAFE.

REFERENCE:
https://www.cancer.gov
https://www.nhs.uk