Bone Cancer Surgery

Question: do people who had bone cancer in their leg need crutches after surgery?

Answer: I am not being flip when I say the lucky people who have had bone cancer surgery need crutches. Two people near and very dear to me have had that surgery and they are both (happily) tooling around in electric wheel chairs glad to be alive and mobile.

Question: Is there any cure for BONE MARROW CANCER? My friend have MARROW BONE CANCER.The doctor told him for operation but later the doctor said operation would be really very dangerous.He have only 6 or 7 months to live alive.Is there any cure for Bone Marrow Cancer except the surgery?I feel soo depressed,What should I do????

Answer: Tell him to eat raw broccoli. Raw broccoli cures cancer.

Question: How long did your dog live after amputation due to bone cancer? We are debating on amputating my 5 year old labs leg due to bone cancer. I was reading that the life expectancy is only 3-4 months and 1 year with chemo. I want to know if this is the case in dogs who's cancer has spread and how many people have had this experience. I am at a loss for what to do, I don't want to make him have surgery only for him to die in 3 months.

Answer: Ask your vet for the proper answer, because he/she can give you the exact estimate, because he/she can examine your dog, and give you the best life expectancy after amputation. It really depends on how serious the bone cancer is. I knew a dog with the same issue, and his owners were terrified for their dogs life, so they decided not to give the dog amputation. After a couple of months the dog fought off the cancer, and was cured. the dog is now 14 years old & is healthy as ever. BUT, i honestly think that dog was VERY lucky. it's very chancy, so i suggest not to take risks. I really don't think that the life expectancy after amputation due to bone cancer is really 3-4 months, i think it could be more then a year. But, i am not a vet, and i could be wrong. Hope with all my heart your lab gets better. <3 Good Luck ;)

Question: what is the survival rate for stage 4 lung cancer with mets to the bone? 63 yr old male has stage 3 lung cancer after surgery lungs are clear but metastasis noted in bone in pelvic region. now person is noted as stage 4 lung cancer given about 3 months to live, is this true?

Answer: There is no cure for a stage IV cancer. There are some variables that contribute to determining life-expectancy, but this information isn't available to us. My guess is that if this gentleman's oncologist said 3 months, that's probably a pretty good estimate. It may be less... it may be a little more.

Question: My father had stomach Cancer , He had hard surgery now he has bone pain . wil he stay alive? My father had stomach Cancer , He had hard surgery now he has bone pain . wil he stay alive?

Answer: Bone pain in most cancers is something that needs to be investigated further. It may or may not indicate that cancer has spread to the bones. A simple X ray of the affected area or a bone scan which scans the whole body may help in detecting spread of cancer to the bones. Make sure you or your father discuss his complaints with his doctor/s. Once stomach cancer has spread to other parts of the body, the outcome is very poor and patient's survival is measured in months rather than years. Do not get discouraged. Get information as you are doing here. Talk to your doctor/s face to face and don't be shy or embarrassed to asks questions.

Question: sir my aunt age 52 yrs is suffering from breast cancer and she underwent surgery and doctor remove her right s? sir my aunt age 52 yrs is suffering from breast cancer and she underwent surgery and doctor remove her right side breast and after then she has taken full course of radiothreaphy and then 6dose of chemothreaphy. then after 1year doctor advise her for ct scan and report says that now she is suffering from bone cancer. now i want to know that by taking your medicine is she may be 100% ok and how long is the treatment and what is the cost of your medicine

Answer: I suspect English is not your first language. You write better in a second language that I can. Sorry about your aunt. If the "bone cancer" is actually breast cancer spread from the original breast tumor, the goal is to buy quality time with various systemic therapies. This may be hormonal therapy with pills, or it may be various types of combination chemotherapy. The costs vary greatly. Wow Dave, $15,000 just to see a radiation oncologist? My charge in the 1980's was $100 for a medical oncology consult which took two hours of my time. The charge was $200 in the 90's. Much of that consultation time was spent explaining treatment options in detail for patients and their families. Things have gone nuts with medical expenses in the past ten years.

Question: Orthogonathic surgery: How do I get my Health insurance to pay for it? My orthodontist and dentist feel that I need to get Othorgonathic surgery to fix my underbite. They want me to to get surgery to my upper and lower jaws. To be honest I agree with them. I cant close my mouth comfortably along with the fact that I grind my teeth at night and I am already developing minor TMJ issues. However it says this in the exlusions & limitations section of my benefits information Upper and Lower jaw bone surgery except as required for the direct treatment of accute traumatic injury or cancer Orthogonathic surgery, jaw alignment and treatment for the tempromandibular joint except atreatment of obstructive sleep apnea Services for the evaluation and treatment of tempromandibular joint syndrome (TMJ) whether the services are considered to be medical or dental in nature. Has anyone else run into this problem? Were you able to successfully appeal? if so how? By the way I'm over 19. Thanks I would like to be able to smile in pics. for a change! Traveling outside the country is not an option for me. For the surgery. Travel outside the US is ver cost prohibitive for me.

Answer: Call a very experienced oral maxillofacial surgeon. They are usually located in educational medical schools or consult a trauma hospitals....the folks that operate on gun shot wounds to the face....that is the surgeon you want doing this type of surgery....it is complicated. Call this type of surgeons private practice and ask who is in charge of billing...they usually know how different insurance cos work and how to go about getting coverage. I'd also make sure the doctor is not only a DDS (doctor of denistry), but also an MD (medical doc). Most really qualified oral maxillofacial doctors are...these guys are like artists or even more qualified than plastic surgeons.

Question: Can a man become permanently impotent from cancer treatment? I have a friend who was diagnosed with bone cancer (in his leg) as a young teen (around 13). He was treated through surgery and cancer treatment. He was told then that the treatment left him impotent. Is there a possibility that the status on that can change or is it usually permanent?

Answer: The radiation was a bit to strong I suppose but they needed to use that to safe his life. But he will remain impotent:sorry for him. Never heard it restored.

Question: when breast cancer has spread to brian liver lungs and bone how much time do you have? 21/2 years ago my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer from taking hormone replacement therapy for menopause they removed part of the breast in may 2009 they found they cancer returned they did brain surgery to remove the cancer from the brain how ever they told her it has spread to lungs liver and bones. On 9/11/09 they told her she is terminal and to start preparing for hospice. When the doctor tells you to prepare for hospice how long does she have left?

Answer: Very sorry to hear this. From experience in working in Palliative Care wards, (and having father who died from Lung Cancer), once it spreads to the brain, then the patient is already stage 4 - thankfully your mother has survived that ordeal, but now she has to battle it in the liver, lungs and bones, unfortunately this is last stage. This is hard. Once it is in the liver, there is little time because the liver is responsible for so many things in the body, along with the lungs. I cannot give you a time frame, i am not God. But keep her comfortable, alot of pain medication will help her pass without being in pain. In training we were taught some signs of approaching death. 1) Shallow and irregular breathing 2) Low urine output 3) Little or no appetite and some more that i forgot. My dad was diagosed with lung cancer - 4 months later he was dead. It spread to the liver and bones, and brain but my mother didn't even tell me (i was 13). May she have a peaceful passing. God bless you and your family

Question: How to help a dog with exposed bone after Fibrosarcoma surgery? My dog has cancer it is called Fibrosarcoma. Her tumor is located in the lower jaw. She was diagnosed in November and today they removed the tumor for the third time. This time the doctor had to expose the bone. Do you know of any similar cases? Any way to avoid infection, pain? Any good website I can do some research on? I just know that exposed bone can not be good

Answer: yes there was a similar case on emergency vets. keep the bone wrapped up and keep the bone from getting wet. www.animalplanet.com

Question: Remember my 9 year old cat, diagnosed with bone cancer and needed leg amputated? I took her in and got more x-rays and blood work. They couldn't find any more cancer. She was really hurting and dragging her leg. I had to make a decision. I finally had her leg amputated. It was such a hard decision. I thank all of you for your answers. She came home today. I was going to pick her up to go upstairs. She gave me the dirtiest look and ran up the stairs on her 3 legs. I couldn't believe it. It was like, don't treat me any different than usual. The problem is, my other cats look at her and keep their distance. It's like they know something is different. You think maybe she just smells different from the hospital and surgery? Other than her friends having nothing to do with her, she's doing great. I'm really glad I had the surgery and I hope I get to enjoy her for many more years. You think my other cats will come around?

Answer: Absolutely. Remember, she has been gone for awhile. They smell different things on her, and they may sense that she is a bit different. But they will come around. Good job on saving your cat! I know that the decision to have a limb amputated is really hard, but believe me, she doesn't miss that painful thing. She will adapt, and will not look back. Your cat thanks you, I'm sure. Please make sure that you let everyone else you know aware of how good your pet is doing. Too many people hang human emotions on the decision to amputate, when the animals actually don't care that much, as long as it doesn't hurt.

Question: Paying for rare and costly cancer treatment? A relative of mine has been diagnosed with a sort of bone cancer, Chondrosarcoma. The surgery and the treatments will cost about a million dollars and we need ways to raise money. Are there any resources in Texas that the state may provide for expensive surgeries or foundations? We are also contacting the American Cancer Society. Thank you! thanks panda, that will get me started. you were right, he doesn't have any health insurance so it is a problem

Answer: Does your relative have health insurance? If not she will need to find ways to pay for the treatment. Usually a medical social worker can guide you through applying for different financial help. There are some hospitals which provide free and low cost health care programs (Hill Burton). The American Cancer Society can point you in the right direction but they do not 'help' patients financially (they don't have the funding). You can check their online site for information: If there is no health insurance and your relative has a low income they may qualify for medicare or state aide of some kind. Other ideas include a community fundraiser through the church or social organizations. Your relative may need to let the community know they need financial help. There are online Yahoo support groups for Chondrosarcoma . . as there are several different types and you do not mention which kind . . but you can search for them. You can also contact people on the ACOR sarcoma listserv . . some of them have chondrosarcoma and can guide you towards resources.

Question: Is it possible to surgically remove adenocarcinoma ( Cancer) of Lung which has slightly invaded a bone? My father is suffering with adenocarcinoma (Cancer) in right upeerlobe of lung, and the tumor has invaded a bone, is it possible to remove it with surgery? Please note that it has not spread to any other part of the body till now !

Answer: They may decide to operate if they can destroy the cancer in the bone thru means of chemo and/or radiation. Seldom do they operate if the cancer has spread to another area other than the original site. There is an exciting new trial being used right now with lung cancers, I'll attach the link for you. You could print it off and your Dad can ask his oncologist if he may be suitable for the trial.

Question: what is a lesion found on a cancer patient who has prostrate cancer, lymph glands also and hip bone. now it sa? the cancer patient has prostrate cancer, with lymph glands also and on hip bone. Now they found lesions on the liver. he was scheduled for surgery to remove everything involved, when the ultrasound picked up the lesions on the liver. Surgery was canceled until they can be cleared for an MRI. What exactly is a lesion? Thanks. Thoms626@verizon.net

Answer: A lesion is an abnormal area in an organ or tissue (it is a nonspecific term for an abnormality). Since the patient has cancer it is likely that the lesion is cancerous. Advanced prostate (not prostrate) cancer can metastasize (spread to other organs) making treatment very difficult. If the cancer has spread the treatment will be different than if the cancer was localized to the prostate. Once cancer spreads chemo or radiation is usually necessary in addition to surgery.

Question: Why is it that when you are diagnosed with cancer, friends and family avoid you like the plague? I was diagnosed with bone cancer this summer after having surgery on my left arm where they found a tumor. now the cancer has spread and they are giving me about four months. Since my family and friends have found out, they avoid me every chance they get. One might think that they would want to spend as much time as possible with me. But it is just the opposite.

Answer: Personally, I think it is because people just don't know what to say or how to act. This happened to a friend of mine when her son died....everyone just deserted her. That or they were very lame in their consolation. I am very sorry you have to go thru all of this, and yes, you would think they would want to be there. But again, I think they feel inadequate and are afraid to be around as they might cry or don't know what to say and make things worse for you. Try not to be upset with them, even though you may feel that way. And maybe you could contact them and show them that you know that it is hard for them and try to make it a positive thing. I wish you the best of luck with both your illness and family/friends!

Question: Bone cancer, possibly secondary? My Grandmother was just diagnosed with bone cancer in three of he ribs. She had surgery to remove a spot on her luung deemed cancerous about 6 months before. From what she has said they are giving her 6 months to live without treatment, and possibly 1 to 2 years with chemo. The prognosis seems grim to me. It sounds as if they have no hope for remission. Does anyone have any insight into bone cancer and its affected on the body? I would like to read up on it a little so I know what to ask when I speak with her doctor. Thank you all so much. Oh yes what stage would you think it is in with this prognosis?

Answer: Bone cancer is a sarcoma (cancerous tumor) that arises in the bone. The most common types of primary bone cancer are osteosarcomas, chondrosarcomas and the Ewing's family of tumors. There are about 2,500 new cases each year in the U. S., making primary bone cancer relatively rare. Osteosarcoma and Ewing’s sarcoma occur more frequently in children and adolescents; chondrosarcoma occurs more often in adults. Secondary (or metastatic) bone cancer is cancer that spreads to the bone from another part of the body. This type of bone cancer occurs more commonly than primary bone cancer. http://www.mdanderson.org/diseases/bonecancer/