Bone cancer treatment cost in India differs from one state to another and has a wide range based on the severity of the disease, the treatment procedure that is used, the experience of the surgeon and specialist, and upon several factors. On an average, the approximate cost of treating bone cancer in India is between USD 6000-7200 to USD 6500-9500.
What You Need to Know About Bone Cancer?
Like any other type of cancer, bone cancer is another one that might become deadly if its treatment is ignored for a longer period. Bone cancer starts to develop in the bone joints of the body and if left untreated for a longer duration, the cancer caused by unusual and unrestricted growth of cancer cells will spread into the other parts of the body and at the end there will be little space for treatment. Bone cancer generally occurs in the bone joints and in the areas such as the pelvic bone or in the long bones in the legs or arms, in the shinbone, femur or thigh bone or in the upper arm. In some cases, the cancer might also begin in some other portion of the body and can later spread into the bones.
In fact, there are certain kinds of bone cancer such as osteosarcoma, is quite a common occurrence among children or among teenagers because this is the stage when the human body experiences rapid growth of bones and muscles or among aged individuals who are above age group of 60.
Bone cancer develops in the form of a tumor or as a lump of tissue on the bone or the joint which is known as bone sarcomas. In the initial stage the tumor is in a benign form that does not spread or not cancerous. But once the tumor becomes malignant, there comes a chance of metastasis, because now the tumor is cancerous and can start spreading into the other parts of the body and damage the major organs of the body.
Different Types of Bone Cancer
Bone cancer can be of several types depending on the place of its occurrence. The different types of bone cancer are as follows:
Osteosarcoma
Osteosarcoma also known as osteogenic sarcoma, and it is the most common type of bone cancer that develops among young children and adolescents and to old and aged individuals. In this case the cancer develops in the apex of the long bones present within the arms and legs or in the hip joints, shoulders, thigh joints or any other bone joint of the body. This cancer is deadly because it damages the hard, protective outer layer of the bones and thus destroys the bones gradually.
Ewing’s Sarcoma
After, Osteosarcoma, comes Ewing’s sarcoma, which is often considered as the second most common type of bone cancer. This type of cancer starts to develop in the soft bone tissues of the body such as the bone tissues in the arms, legs and in the pelvis. This type of bone cancer proves to be lethal in both children and young adults.
Chondrosarcoma
Chondrosarcoma is another type of bone cancer that is most found to develop in the bones of the pelvic region, and in the femur, bone joints, the shoulders and in the legs, in the subchondral tissues, particularly among aged individuals. This type of cancer is not so commonly found among people and take a considerable period to grow and spread within the body and forms in the tough connective tissue of the body that are found in between the joints of the bones.
Multiple Myeloma
Multiple myeloma is another most common type of bone cancer that develops in the bone joints. This type of cancer begins in the plasma cells of the body and the cancer gradually spreads into the other parts of the body affecting the bone marrow and other bone joints. This type of bone cancer too is commonly found among aged people.
Complications Related to Bone Cancer
Though the oncologists and the health care experts might advise the different types of methods used to treat bone cancer, such as chemotherapy, surgery, radiation therapy, and so on are safe enough to cure bone cancer, but still there are certain complications that are bound to develop after the treatment of bone cancer.
In fact, many of the treatment methods such as chemotherapy and surgery may not completely cure the different forms of bone cancer and result into more health- related complications. The complications that usually occur from bone cancer and the aftermath of the treatment are as follows:
- Mild to severe pain in the chest
- Problems in breathing or breathlessness
- Wheezing
- Hoarseness of voice
- Profuse coughing and giving out of blood that continues as a chronic cough
Chemotherapy and surgery can have considerable side effects in the body, particularly among young patients. Some of the side effects are as follows:
- Excessive tiredness and exhaustion
- Mild to severe pain
- Hair loss
- Nausea that may or may not be accompanied by vomiting
- Infections
- Fluid retention
- Anemia
- Digestion- related problems including constipation, diarrhea
Symptoms Of Bone Cancer
In the early stages of bone cancer, like any other form of cancer, the symptoms are not significantly noticeable. So it becomes difficult to understand as the symptoms are mistaken to be regular issues. Some of the most common symptoms of bone cancer are listed below:
- Excessive tiredness and fatigue
- Problems in walking, standing or in any bone joint movement
- Bone pain that can start after minor trauma
- Constipation
- A hard mass develops in the long bones of arms, legs, pelvis, or chest
- Mild to severe pain and swelling in the affected bones that might cause pain in legs and arms
Though the above symptoms might seem to be regular, these might be the early signs of bone cancer. So, when you are experiencing any of these symptoms, it is important to take advice from your health care expert as soon as possible.
Stages Of Bone Cancer
Bone cancer, just like all cancer types, too has been divided into 4 stages. This division is done by physicians based on several factors such as the stages of its development, severity of the disease, treatability of the disease and so on. The four stages of bone cancer are listed here as follows:
Stage 1
This is the very first stage of the cancer, when there is no such significant symptom. This is stage when the cancer is easily treatable because the disease has not started spreading yet.
Stage 2
In this stage the cancer has grown more and has started affecting the bone tissues.
Stage 3
In this stage the cancer has started spreading out of the bone tissues into different parts of the body.
Stage 4
This is the last and the most fatal stage of the cancer when it has affected almost the entire skeletal system of the body and in this stage the cancer is hardly treatable.
Diagnosis of Bone Cancer
- CT Scans: This is the most vital test that shows the growth and development of the cancer.
- MRI Scans: This test helps to detect the entire formation of cancerous tumors in the bone joints.
- PET Scan: This procedure is performed for studying formation of tumors in bone tissues.
- X-rays: X-rays are recommended by doctors to reveal the internal condition of the bones.
Procedures and Methods for The Treatment of Bone Cancer
Medications
In most cases oncologists and health care experts advise some medications for bone cancer treatment. Some such medicine are as follows:
- Medications such as antibiotics related to chemotherapy.
- Medicines and drugs for relieving pain, inflammation and discomfort after surgery and chemotherapy.
- A class of medicines belonging to Bis- phosphonates that reduces the chances of bone loss and keeps all the bones in proper structure.
- Medicines such as cytotoxics that reduces the abnormal spreading, development, and division of the cancer cells.
- Drugs that develop and strengthen the immune system, usually given after immunotherapy to boost immunity.
Surgery
The most commonly used method for treating bone cancer is surgery, through which the cancer- affected bones or the parts of bones are removed from the body.
Chemotherapy
Chemotherapy is the most recommended process by oncologists and health care experts to treat bone cancer, in fact for treating most types of cancer. In chemotherapy, the growth of cancer is stopped and the cancerous cells are damaged using drugs and medications.
Radiation Therapy
In this procedure of treating bone cancer, high intensity rays of radiation beams are used and applied on the cancer cells to damage the cancer cells and check further growth of bone cancer.
Cryosurgery
This is another unique method for the treatment of bone cancer that is followed after a surgery. In this process the cancerous lumps or tumors are removed from the bone tissue to check the further growth of cancer cells within the bones.
FAQs
If detected in an early stage, bone cancer and be treated but if the condition becomes severe, there is little chance of survival. Moreover, surgery and chemotherapy also cannot cure bone cancer completely.
The survival rate of bone cancer is approximately around 22%.
The time taken for the recovery of bone cancer completely depends on the method and procedure of treatment and the severity of the disease. But on an average, it takes almost 6 months to cure the disease after surgery.
Patients of bone cancer should consume a lot of protein and calcium- containing food substances such as milk and dairy products like curd, cheese and so on, eggs, legumes, meat, fish, beans, and poultry.
X- rays can effectively reveal any abnormality in the bones, but in delicate cases, further biopsies, CT scans, or MRI may be required to study the internal conditions.
