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Bone cancer
Bonecancerisarareformofcancer.Thehumanbodyismadeofmorethan200bones.Although bonelooksandfeelsquitehard,itcontainslivingcells.Thesecellscandeveloptumours,orcancer. Thetumourmaystartinthebone(primarycancer)ormaystartinanotherpartofthebodyand spreadtothebone(secondarycancer). Ourbonessupportourbodyandprotectorganssuchastheheartandlungs.Bonesaremadeof cellscalledosteocytes,osteoclastsandosteoblasts,whichareboundtogetherbyacalcium-like materialtogivetheboneitsstrength.Bonesarefilledwithaspongymaterialcalledbonemarrow, whichmakesbloodcells. Primary bone cancer Primarybonecancer,orcancerthatstartsinthebone,isquiterare.About50peopledevelopbone cancerinVictoriaeachyear.Lessthanonepercentofpeoplewithbonecancerhaveprimarybone cancer.Ratesformalesandfemalesareverysimilar. Themostcommontypeofprimarybonecancerisosteosarcoma.Thiscancerusuallyaffectsyoung adults.Itcanaffectanybonebutthearms,legsandpelvisaremorecommonlyaffected.Other lesscommonformsofprimarybonecancerincludeEwingsarcoma,malignantfibroushistiocytoma andchondrosarcoma. Thecausesofprimarybonecancerarenotknown;however,adultswhohavePagetsdisease(a bonedisease)mayhaveanincreasedrisk. Secondary bone cancer Secondarybonecanceristhemostcommonbonecancer.Itisacancerthatstartssomewhereelse inthebodyandspreads(metastasises)tothebone.Themostcommoncancersthatspreadtothe bonearecancersofthebreast,prostate,lung,kidneyandthyroid. Symptoms Thesignsandsymptomsofbonecancerinclude: Painfulbonesandjointsthepainisoftenworseatnight Swellingofbonesandjoints Problemswithmovement Susceptibilitytofractures.

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Otherlesscommonsymptomscaninclude: Unexplainedweightloss Tiredness Feverandsweating.

Remember,bonecancerisveryraresoifyouhaveanyofthesesymptoms,itismorelikelytobe causedbyanothercondition.Alwaysseeyourdoctorifyouhavesymptomsthatlastforlonger thantwoweeks. Diagnosis Diagnosingbonecancerinvolvesanumberoftests,including: X-rays and bone scanstoshowtheexactlocationandsizeofthecancer(theseare alwaysdonepriortobiopsy).

Bonecancer

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Bone biopsyasmallsampleofcellsisremovedfromtheboneandexaminedinthe laboratoryforthepresenceofcancercells.Ifthecellsarecancers,furthertestsmaybe donebyapathologisttodeterminetheexacttypeofcancer. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scansimilartoaCTscanbutusesmagnetism insteadofx-raystobuildthree-dimensionalpicturesofyourbody.Thesearemore commonlybeingusedtoinvestigatepossiblebonetumours.

Treatment Treatmentoptionsinclude: Primary bone cancersmostpeoplewithprimarybonecancerwillneedacombination ofdifferenttreatments.Surgerycanbeusedtoremovethecancer,surroundingbone tissueandnearbylymphnodes.Inseverecases,theaffectedlimbmayneedtobe amputated,butthisisrare.Treatmentmayalsoincluderadiotherapy(x-raystotargetand killthecancercells)andchemotherapy(anti-cancerdrugs).Thesemaybegivenbefore surgery,toshrinkthecancer,and/orafterwardstodestroyanyremainingcancercells. Secondary bone cancertreatmentdependsonthetreatmentfortheoriginalcancer, butusuallyincludeschemotherapy,radiotherapyorhormonetherapy.Surgerymaybe neededtostrengthentheaffectedbone.

Where to get help Yourdoctor CancerCouncilVictoria,InformationandSupportServiceTel.131120 MultilingualCancerInformationLine,VictoriaseetheCCVwebsiteforcontactdetails

Things to remember Primarybonecancerstartsintheboneandaccountsforlessthanonepercentofpeople withbonecancer. Secondarybonecanceristhemostcommonformofbonecancerandiscausedbythe spreadofcancercellsfromacancersomewhereelseinthebody,suchasthebreast, prostateorlungs. Treatmentoptionsforbonecancermayincludesurgery,radiotherapy,chemotherapyand hormonetherapy.

This page has been produced in consultation with, and approved by:

CancerCouncilVictoria

Copyight 1999/2009StateofVictoria.ReproducedfromtheBetterHealthChannel(www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au)at nocostwithpermissionoftheVictorianMinisterforHealth.Unauthorisedreproductionandotherusescomprisedinthe copyrightareprohibitedwithoutpermission. ThisBetterHealthChannelfactsheethaspassedthrougharigorousapprovalprocess.Forthelatestupdatesandmore informationvisitwww.betterhealth.vic.gov.au.

Bonecancer

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