Posts Tagged ‘Surgery’

How to treat bone cancer by radiotherapy?

Bone Cancer is the cancer that begins in the bone. Primary bone cancer is relatively uncommon with secondary or metastatic cancer. This is cancer that occurs initially in another organ and then spreads to bone tissue.

The most common types of bone cancer includes:
- Osteosarcoma,
- Ewing’s sarcoma,
- Chondrosarcoma,
- Malignant fibrous histiocytoma,
- Fibrosarcoma,
- Chordoma

Diagnosis of bone cancer:
- Check for a complete medical history.
- A description of your symptoms can help.
- A complete physical examination can help find the cause of your symptoms.
- Testing your muscle strength.
- Sensation to touch
- Reflexes
- Certain blood tests
- Plain X-rays
Benign tumors are more likely to have a smooth border while malignant tumors have a ragged border on X-ray images.

- A CT scan
- An MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).
- Positron emission tomography (PET) scan.
- An angiogram, which is an x-ray of blood vessels.
- A bone scan.
- Obtain a biopsy sample of the tumor.
- Get examined in the laboratory by a pathologist.
- Determine what kind of tumor it is.

What is the treatment for bone cancer?
The best treatment is based on:
- the type of bone cancer,
- the location of the cancer,
- how aggressive the cancer is,
- whether or not the cancer has invaded surrounding or distant tissues (metastasized).

The main types of treatment for bone cancer:
- Surgery,
- Chemotherapy,
- Radiation therapy
- Cryosurgery
These can be used either individually or combined with each other.

Process of Radiotherapy
- The radiation therapy uses high-energy X-ray aimed at the site of the cancer.
- This is to try to kill the cancer cells.
- This treatment is given in small doses daily over a period of days to months.
- Radiation therapy can be used either before or after a potential surgery.
- It depends on the specific type of cancer.
- These high-energy rays are used to damage cancer cells and stop them from growing and dividing.
- A specialist in radiation therapy is called a radiation oncologist.

Types of Radiation Therapy are:
Radiation therapy is a local treatment. It affects cancer cells only in the treated area.
- Radiation can come from a machine (external radiation).
- It can also come from an implant (a small container of radioactive material) placed directly into or near the tumor (internal radiation).
- Some patients need both kinds of radiation therapy.

External Radiation Therapy
- It is usually given on an outpatient basis in a hospital or clinic 5 days a week for a number of weeks.
- Patients are not radioactive during or after the treatment.

Internal Radiation Therapy
- The patient stays in the hospital for a few days.
- The implant may be temporary or permanent.
- The level of radiation is highest during the hospital stay.
- Once an implant is removed, there is no radioactivity in the body.
- The amount of radiation in a permanent implant goes down to a safe level before the patient leaves.

Other facts
- The most common type of radiation treatment is called external-beam radiation therapy.
- Radiation therapy is most often used for patients with a tumor that cannot be removed by surgery.
- This is also used where patient may have cancer cells remaining after surgery.
- Radiation therapy may be done before surgery to shrink the tumor also.
- Radiation therapy makes it possible to do less extensive surgery, often preserving the arm or leg.
- Radiation therapy may also be used to relieve pain for people with advanced bone cancer.
- For patients with Ewing’s sarcoma, radiation therapy may be combined with chemotherapy and surgery.

Side effects from radiation therapy may include:
- fatigue
- mild skin reactions
- upset stomach
- loose bowel movements
Most side effects go away soon after treatment is finished.

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How to treat bone cancer by surgery?

Bone Cancer is the cancer that begins in the bone. Primary bone cancer is relatively uncommon with secondary or metastatic cancer. This is cancer that occurs initially in another organ and then spreads to bone tissue.

The most common types of bone cancer includes:
- Osteosarcoma,
- Ewing’s sarcoma,
- Chondrosarcoma,
- Malignant fibrous histiocytoma,
- Fibrosarcoma,
- Chordoma

Diagnosis of bone cancer:
- Check for a complete medical history.
- A description of your symptoms can help.
- A complete physical examination can help find the cause of your symptoms.
- Testing your muscle strength.
- Sensation to touch
- Reflexes
- Certain blood tests
- Plain X-rays
Benign tumors are more likely to have a smooth border while malignant tumors have a ragged border on X-ray images.

- A CT scan
- An MRI (magnetic resonance imaging).
- Positron emission tomography (PET) scan.
- An angiogram, which is an x-ray of blood vessels.
- A bone scan.
- Obtain a biopsy sample of the tumor.
- Get examined in the laboratory by a pathologist.
- Determine what kind of tumor it is.

What is the treatment for bone cancer?
The best treatment is based on:
- the type of bone cancer,
- the location of the cancer,
- how aggressive the cancer is,
- whether or not the cancer has invaded surrounding or distant tissues (metastasized).

The main types of treatment for bone cancer:
- Surgery,
- Chemotherapy,
- Radiation therapy
- Cryosurgery
These can be used either individually or combined with each other.

Process of Surgery
- A surgical oncologist is a doctor who specializes in treating cancer using surgery.
- The most common treatment for bone cancer is bone cancer surgery.
- It involves total amputation of a limb or removing the cancerous portion of bone.
- Chemotherapy has made limb-sparing bone cancer surgery possible.
- If chemotherapy is possible then surgeons avoid amputation by removing only the cancerous section of the bone.
- This is then replaced with an artificial device called prosthesis or with bone from another place in the body.
- In some cases, all or part of an arm or leg may have to be removed(amputated).
- This is done to make sure that all of the cancer is taken out.
- If the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, the lymph nodes will also be removed (this is called lymph node dissection).
- A wide excision removes the tumor along with a margin of normal tissue around it in all directions.
- The amputation is needed depending on the tumor’s size or location.
- Wide excision surgical techniques have reduced the number of amputations.
- Prostheses are placing metal plates or bone from other parts of the body or to replace the missing bone and provide strength to the remaining bone.
- Amputation is required when the surgical area cannot be fully covered with soft tissue. Surgeons use soft tissue to cover the reconstruction area.
- This tissue helps in healing and reduces the risk of infection.
- To avoid amputation, some children can be fitted for expandable joint prostheses.
- These prostheses require multiple operations.

What are different methods for the treatment of colorectal cancer?

An abnormal growth in the organ called the colon, vermiform appendix and rectum gives rise to a cancer called the colorectal cancer. Another name given to colorectal cancer is bowel cancer. Colorectal cancer is commonly symbolized by symptoms like stool passing out with blood, rectal bleeding, haemorrhoids, pale skin, fatigue, abdominal pain, distension of the abdomen, weight loss, nausea, narrow stools and rectal pain.

There are many treatments which can be undergone in order to prevent or cure colorectal cancer. Following are some ways in which colorectal cancer can be treated:

- Surgery
The most common treatment used for curing colorectal cancer is through surgery. Surgery can be of either type: palliative (for reducing the morbidity of the tumour), curative (effective for tumours which are localized), and fecal diversion, open and close or bypass. Although surgery is the most common type of treatment but it can result in some complications also. These complications may include obstruction in bowel caused by adhesions, wound infection, anastomosis breakdown, injury to the adjacent organ, cardio-respiratory complications and many more.

- Chemotherapy
It is a treatment preferred by patients who have undergone the surgery. Chemotherapy is a survival treatment for patients whose cancer has reached a higher stage. This treatment is mainly carried out in stages. After the treatment is done, the patient undergoes a recovery period and then again the treatment is carried on. This is repeated until the patient is relieved from the cancer. Side effects of chemotherapy include hair loss, infections, vomiting, nausea, etc.

- Combination regimens
After chemotherapy, if the patient still continues to suffer from the cancer then the patient is treated with combination regimens. This is only carried out if the patient has enough strength to undergo further treatments. These treatments are also called the second line chemotherapy regimen treatments. When the first line chemotherapy treatment does no show much result on the patient then the second line treatment called Panitumumab is given to the patient. This treatment is given mostly in the extreme stages of the colorectal cancer.

- Radiation therapy
It can also be used for the treatment of the colorectal cancer. The cancerous cells are exposed to high energy radiations and as a result they are killed by these radiations. Radiation therapy is mostly given after the surgery i.e. in conjunction with the surgery. It is mostly effective in curing the pain, blockage and bleeding caused due to the colorectal cancer. There are various types of radiation therapies which are given to the cancer patient. These radiation therapies include External Beam Therapy (EBT), and Brachy therapy.

- Other Surgeries
There are many other surgeries available for the treatment of colorectal cancer. These surgeries include Laparoscopic surgery which is also known as the keyhole surgery. In this surgery a camera is inserted into the abdomen to see the inner part of the abdomen. The surgeon then analysis the problem and works on its treatment. Partial colectomy is another surgery which can be performed on the colorectal cancer patient. In this surgery a healthy colon is connected in place of the diseased colon. This surgery is also called the partial bowel resection.

- Other Treatments
Other treatments which are not very commonly used to cure the colorectal cancer are the cancer vaccine, the immunotherapy, support therapies, treatment of the liver metastases and palliative care.

Colorectal cancer is a cancer which stands on the third number in the list of cancers. It is very dangerous if not treated in proper time and can also cause a threat to life. Mostly people with a hereditary problem of colorectal cancer, and older age are more likely to develop the colorectal cancer.