Photo Credit: National Cancer Institute via www.cancer.gov

 

 BONE CANCER

Hello everyone, I just got a very sad news yesterday which inspired me to create a blog about cancer.  Although this topic is already next in line as I have started submitting blogs about fighting common diseases but I was not eager enough to start doing a research and writing not until I knew that one of my friends passed away due to bone cancer.  If you haven’t read my two previous blogs about Health and Wellness, specifically about Heart Disease please click HERE and on Diabetes you may click HERE.

 

Photo Credit:  American Cancer Society via www.acscan.org

 

 So going back to the unpleasant news I mentioned above, I was saddened of the loss of the head of the family of a close friend/family and former colleagues in two of my previous employment back in the Philippines.  It was a very shocking incident as I haven’t heard of him being hospitalized and having a serious disease aside from having a high blood pressure long time ago with a slightly elevated sugar level.

And yes it happens so fast, he started feeling pain in his hips last February this year, and had consulted a number of doctors but weren’t able to diagnose his illness accurately.  I mean medical practitioners who handle him unfortunately did not able to identify the cause of such pain.  Then it was just about a week ago when it was diagnosed as cancer and the deadly cells already spread throughout his body and yes the cancer is already stage 4.  Then sadly, he died a week after.

So what is cancer and what are the different types of cancer?

Would you believe if I will say all the letter of the English alphabet has a corresponding type of cancer?  I mean not all, because letters QWXYZ don’t have but the rest? Yes! and not only one type.  Perhaps I will just mention here the most common type of cancer under each letter.

 

• So let’s start with letter

• A

• Anal Cancer
• Appendix Cancer
• Adrenal Cancer

• B

• Bone Cancer
• Brain Cancer
• Breast Cancer

 

Photo Credit: jp26jp via www.pixabay.com

 

• C

• Cervical cancer
• Colon cancer

• D

• Diffuse astrocytoma (Brain cancer)

• E 

• Eye cancer

• F

• Fallopian tube cancer

• G

• Gallbladder cancer
• Gastrointestinal cancer

• H

• Head and neck cancer
• 
• Photo Credit: ePainAssist via www.epainassist.com

• I

• Intestinal Cancer

• J

• Jaw cancer

• K

• Kidney cancer

• L

• Leukemia
• Liver cancer
• Lung cancer

• M

• Male breast cancer
• Melanoma
• Multiple myeloma
• 

• N

• Nasal cavity cancer

• O

• Ovarian cancer

• P

• Pelvic cancer
• Penile cancer
• Prostate cancer
• 

Photo Credit:  www.orthopedic-oncologist.com 

• R

• Rectal cancer

• S

• Sinus cancer
• Skin cancer
• Stomach cancer

• T

• Throat cancer
• Thyroid cancer

• U

• Urethral cancer

• V

• Vaginal cancer

 

• Photo credit:  Google Photo via http://www.bonetumor.org  

   

• WHAT IS CANCER?

Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Not all tumors are cancerous; benign tumors do not spread to other parts of the body. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal bleeding, prolonged cough, unexplained weight loss and a change in bowel movements. While these symptoms may indicate cancer, they may have other causes. Over 100 types of cancers affect humans. - Wikipedia

We all know from our science class that a cell is the basic unit of life and the building blocks of our body.  Our body forms new cells as we need them normally replacing old or damage cells.  But sometimes new cells grow even we don’t need them and old cells live even if supposedly they should die and be replaced.  This is some abnormalities in our body which may cause serious problem because these extra cells can form a mass called a tumor although tumor can be benign (non-cancerous) but can also be malignant (cancerous).  So this means cancer begins in our cells and cancer cells can invade nearby tissues or can be spread to other parts of the body, this process is called metastasis.

Photo Credit:  PDPics via www.pixabay.com

 

Yes there are over 100 types of cancer but this time I will focus on Bone cancer as it is the cause of my friend’s death.

What is bone cancer?

Bone cancer is a malignant tumor of the bone that destroys normal bone tissue.  Since this kind of cancer can spread or affects other tissues it is indeed a threat to life. Cancer that begin in bone tissue is called primary bonce cancer, while if the cancer begins from other parts of the body and are spread to the bones it is called metastatic cancer, this types of cancer are usually named after the organ or tissue by which it started.

What are the different types of Primary Bone Cancer?

Osteosarcoma – This type of primary bone cancer arises from osteoid tissue in the bone.  This occur mostly in the knee and upper arm. 

Chondrosarcoma - This type of primary bone cancer arises from cartilaginous tissue. This might have been the type of primary bone cancer my friend was suffering because it occurs most often in the pelvis, upper leg and shoulder.  He felt the pain in his hips part maybe it’s where the tumor started and then spread all over his body.

What are the possible causes of bone cancer?

I can’t really find clear cause of bone cancer even after reading a number of articles but what is certain is that it may be caused by exposure to a radiation or even by just taking anti-cancer drugs.  It’s very ironic that the treatment of another illness using a high dose radiation therapy may result to bone cancer.  So for me such treatment using radiation should not to be advised otherwise the patient will be exposed into a more health complications.

 

Photo Credit: Medic Tube via www.youtube.com

 

SYMPTOMS

Symptoms depend on the cancer type and how advanced it is. For bone cancer pain is the most common symptoms although not all bone cancer causes pain.  So if one experience persistent or unusual pain or even swelling in some parts of the body most specifically near a bone, he or she must see a doctor to determine the cause because it might be due to the present of cancer cells in the body, and it is important to think about prevention as something better than cure or detecting an illness in its early stage could mean saving life as it would be hard to treat and illness if it’s already in its advanced stage.

TREATMENT

Treatment varies with a lot of factors like the type, size and location of the cancer as well as age and general health of the patient.  It may include surgery, radiation and/or chemotherapy. Some treatment may involve hormone therapy, immunotherapy, and the latest, stem cell transplantation.

DIAGNOSIS

The following are the tests may be conducted in order for a bone cancer to be diagnosed:

X-rays – this include a bone scan and magnetic resonance imaging commonly known as MRI.

Biopsy – during biopsy a sample is taken from the tumor will undergo tests or examination, this is normally done by an oncologist a doctor who specialized in the treatment of bone cancer.

Blood tests – what needs to be determined here is the level of an enzyme called alkaline phosphatase. There is a significant increase of this enzyme when a broken bone is mending, or when a disease or tumor causes production of abnormal bone tissue or simply when children are growing.  Although this test is not 100% reliable to be able to draw a conclusion that indeed the patient has bone cancer.  So this test is normally administered or carried out along with the other tests to be sure with the result.

Photo Credit: Bone Cancer Research Trust via www.bcrt.org.uk

 

Please watch the two videos below to understand and treat bone cancer at early stage and know some natural cure for bone cancer:

Video Credit: Home Remedies via www.youtube.com

Video Credit: sudhakar c via www.youtube.com

 

By: TRB - A father of 5, an Overseas Filipino Worker and willing to be part of the worldwide campaign against poverty, climate change, and inequality.