Primary bone cancer is rare but more common in children, while cancer that spreads to the bone is more common. Symptoms include pain, swelling, fatigue, and unexplained weight loss. The most common symptom is pain in the affected bone. There are three types of primary bone cancer: chondrosarcoma, osteosarcoma, and Ewing’s sarcoma. Symptoms may not appear until the disease is advanced.
Primary bone cancer, or cancer that begins in the bones, is relatively rare but occurs more often in children than in adults. However, cancer that spreads or metastasizes to the bone is much more common at all ages. In fact, some forms of cancer commonly spread to the bones, such as thyroid, prostate, lung, or breast cancer. Also, while the cancer can originate in or spread to any bone, the arms and legs are most commonly affected. Where and how the disease occurs generally determines which bone cancer symptoms may be experienced.
Unlike other cancers that are specific to certain organs and named as such based on its location in the body, bone cancers are usually collectively referred to as sarcomas. However, there are three distinct types of primary bone cancers: chondrosarcoma, which usually affects the cartilage of the pelvis, hip joint, or shoulder; osteosarcoma, which usually occurs in the upper arm or knee; and Ewing’s sarcoma, which typically occurs in bone or nerve tissue in the legs, arms, pelvis, or spine. Of these, osteosarcoma and Ewing’s sarcoma are most likely to occur in young people between the ages of 10 and 25. Chondrosarcoma, on the other hand, is found almost exclusively in older patients.
Unfortunately, bone cancer symptoms may not appear significantly until the disease is advanced. Also, many types of this cancer develop slowly over a long period of time, which can lead the patient to attribute their symptoms to an age-related condition, such as arthritis. Other factors that influence the signs of bone cancer are its specific location and the size of the tumor.
The most commonly reported symptom is general pain in the affected bone, which may be described as dull and aching, or as sharp and stabbing. The pain can also be intermittent. Sometimes, a lump or growth may emerge from the site of the cancer that is not accompanied by pain. Unfortunately, even this can be ignored in the belief that the growth may be a cyst. Finally, it is not uncommon for a patient to experience no symptoms of bone cancer.
However, there may be other bone cancer symptoms that can occur in addition to pain. First, unexplained swelling of a limb or joint may indicate the presence of a tumor. Sometimes fatigue, fever, and unexplained weight loss may occur. Furthermore, the appearance of bone tumors can cause an excessive level of circulating calcium in the blood, which can produce nausea and attacks of mental confusion. Finally, the affected bone may become more susceptible to fracture, which may explain why many bone tumors in the arms and legs are found when examining x-rays taken after a fall or injury.
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