English
Bone cancer is quite a rare type of cancer. It initiates mostly in the long bones like the arm or legs. It is made up of trillions of cells which grow at different rates but do not metastasize. Bone cancer does not include blood cell cancers like myeloma and leukemia that only metastasizes (disperses to the bones).
Hippocrates, a Greek physician used words like carcinos and carcinoma to describe tumors formed due to ulcers. Cancer refers to the word crab which has finger like projection similar to those in the cancer cells.
The disease was first identified in 1761 by Giovanni Morgagni of Padua. He discovered patient illness through pathology even after the patient’s death. He was a founder of scientific oncology – study of cancer. The disease was first diagnosed by the Roman herbalist, Galen.
Frequent pain in the bone resulting in extreme pain at times, getting fatigued after short term work feeling swelling and tenderness in the veins are some of the symptoms of bone cancer. The moment such symptoms are found try to take immediate appointment from medical representatives as bones easily break and there is also weight loss.
The bone cancer cells develop in the DNA and spread to other parts of the body. In many cases, it is an inherited genetic syndrome and passes through members of the family, including LiFracmeni syndrome and hereditary retinoblastoma. Genetic disorders in the patients cause the cells to develop. Those which develop in children are known as osteosarcoma, whereas hereditary retinoblastoma (cancer of the eye) may also end up with a bone cancer.
Bone cancer is diagnosed by biopsy of tissues taken from the affected area, bone scan, computerized tomography (CT), Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) positron emission tomography (PET) and X-ray.
Most patients visit their medical representatives to seek advice (prognosis). It is just a medical opinion not a decision for bone cancer patients and creates awareness in the patients whether he would recover or the disease would recur. The factors that affect bone cancer prognosis are whether the cancer is osteosarcoma (rising from the bone tissue) or condrosarcoma (arising from cartilage cell) or Ewing’s sarcoma (rising from nerve tissues within the bone). The stage the cancer has metastasized also matters. Even the abnormality of the cells has been graded. Finally the age factor, the response to treatment given and the general health of the patient affect the prognosis.
Most doctors suggest surgery of the effective areas for curing bone cancer followed by Chemotherapy, which is the injecting of a kind of drug into the patient’s veins. This has a lot of side effects like anxiety, depression and hair loss; depending on how much of tolerance the patient may have. Also Radiation - extra violent rays, is applied on the affected part. This burns up the cancer cells but at the same time it may damage other cells or organs in the affected area. This causes other medical disorders in the patients. To prevent the patient from multiple medical disorders, a combination of treatment could also be given. A minor surgery followed by chemotherapy or radiation is also recommended.
Works Cited
“Bone Cancer.” Medline Plus. National Institutes of Health. 6th February 2012. Web. 6th April 2012. < http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bonecancer.html#cat5>
“Bone Cancer”. National Cancer Institute. 13 March 2008. Web. 6 April 2012.
“Bone Cancer.” Mayo clinic. Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. n.p. Web. 6 April 2012.
Jason and William. “Bone Cancer.” Medicine Net. MedicineNet, Inc. n.p. Web 6 April 2012. < http://www.medicinenet.com/bone_cancer/page5.htm>
