Symptoms

• Symptoms of bone cancer vary depending on the tumor's location, but pain is a universal indicator you may have bone cancer. Swelling or tenderness in an area is also a symptom, as are fatigue, fever, weight loss and anemia.
  
  

Diagnosis

• Bone cancers can be diagnosed using a traditional X-ray. A doctor may order an MRI or CT scan to discover just how much bone the tumor has already destroyed, as well as whether it has metastasized. A physician can perform a biopsy, in which a sample of bone tissue is removed and analyzed, to confirm the cancer diagnosis. A patient can undergo a needle biopsy, in which a long needle is used to remove a piece of bone while a patient is awake, or an open biopsy, in which a surgeon cuts out a small piece of bone while a patient is under anesthesia.
  
  

Surgery

• Surgery is commonly used to remove the bone tumor and a small area of normal, healthy bone that surrounds it. The goal is to remove all the cancerous cells so the patient will not require further treatments. Amputations are necessary in severe cases, but current technology has curbed this practice. Regardless, surgeons need to replace the section of bone they remove, and this can come in the form of either a bone graft taken from a bone bank, another part of the body or a metal implant.
  
  

Chemotherapy

• Chemotherapy, or introducing chemical medications to the bloodstream to stop cancer cells from growing, is another treatment used on bone cancer metastasis. It can be used leading up to surgery to shrink the tumor for a smoother, less invasive operation. Chemotherapy is often used after surgery to eliminate remaining cancerous cells a surgeon might not have been able to remove.
  
  

Radiation therapy

• Radiation therapy, or focusing a high-energy X-rays at a cancer site in an attempt to kill cancer cells, is often used in conjunction with the other options. Patients receive these daily treatments typically in small doses, drawn out over a specific time frame. Depending on the patient, this can be from a few days to a few months. Like chemotherapy, radiation therapy can relieve pain by shrinking tumors prior to surgery. Bone cancer cells tend to resist radiation therapy more so than chemotherapy, so this type of treatment will not be right for everyone.