Friday, December 2, 2011

Bone Cancer Treatment And Possible Side Effects



There are a assortment of approaches which can assist treat bone cancer. Based on the extent of the tumor, cancer location, severity of the condition the doctor recommends treatment for it.

Remedy Possibilities

Patients frequently have to undergo surgery, radiation therapy or chemotherapy for therapy of bone cancer. The remedy may either be individually or may possibly be a combination of the all the 3, depending on the extent of it.

Surgery

Surgery is the most popular method for treating bone cancer and it is accomplished when the tumor is significant and has to be removed entirely. Surgery is resorted to when the entire bone and the surrounding parts of the bone creates difficulties for the patient. A pathologist typically examines the complete bone to check for any further tumor growth. If the tumor is not removed fully, then the cells could possibly slowly start off growing and it can influence the whole region covering the bone and the surrounding places of the bones. There are greater probabilities of recurrence of bone cancer hence the surgery needs to be completed with care.

In the past, patients had to undergo amputations for removal of bone cancer. However, with the introduction of new and sophisticated approaches, it is probable to get rid of a tumor. If the tumor has not spread to the whole bone, it can be easily scraped and a smaller bone graft can be placed.

Bone grafting for replacing the bone

A smaller tumor can be addressed with a smaller bone graft. However, if the bone has been damaged significantly, the surgeon will have to go for a bigger graft, which may well be either a bone implant.

Chemotherapy for stopping further growth of cancer cells

The patient is subsequent referred for chemotherapy as this helps in preventing further growth of cancer cells. Generally, the medical oncologist will suggest chemotherapy prior to bone surgery so that the tumor shrinks in size. This makes the surgery a lot easier and the good results rate is much higher. Chemotherapy may possibly also be suggested right after the surgery to prevent further growth of cancer cells.

Chemotherapy sessions have confirmed to be incredibly successful in killing cancer cells. The only drawback is that at times even wholesome cells might possibly be killed. Patients might possibly experience giddiness, nausea, hair loss, extreme tiredness immediately after the chemotherapy sessions.

Radiation for killing cancer cells

Radiation assists in killing the bone cancer cells and this is done in some doses. The therapy takes couple of weeks to months. The type of radiation and the dosage varies with the sort of cancer. This is indeed a incredibly effective remedy in this disease.

Doable side-effects

All of us will agree that every single remedy may possibly have some side effects or the other. Some of the side effects in the therapy of this illness are infection in the bone, cancer recurrence, harm to the surrounding locations etc. This is when the doctor refers the patient to a bone rehabilitation specialist for occupational therapy sessions. The patient surely finds an improvement in the overall strength and confidence levels.

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