Cancer Treatment Information and Resources

Cancer of the bone or bone cancer is a general term used when cancer cells are seen in the bone. Cancer that begins in the bone is called primary bone cancer. It is found most often in the arms and legs but it can occur in any bone in the body. Children and young people are more likely than adults to have bone cancers.

Primary bone cancers are called sarcomas. There are several different types of sarcoma and each type begins in a different kind of bone tissue. The most common sarcomas are osteosarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, and chondrosarcoma.

In young people, the most common type of bone cancer is osteosarcoma, usually occurring between the ages of ten and twenty-five. More often, males are affected than females. Osteosarcoma frequently starts in the ends of the bones; where new bone tissue forms as a young person grows, usually affecting the long bones of the arms and legs. Ewing's sarcoma usually affects teenagers, and is mostly found in people between ten and twenty-five years old. This cancer forms in the middle part (shaft) of large bones and most often affects the hip bones and long bones in the thigh and upper arm, but can also occur in the ribs. Chondrosarcoma is a type of tumor that forms in the cartilage (rubbery tissue around the joints) and are found mainly in adults. Other types of bone cancer include fibrosarcoma (malignant giant cell tumor) and chordoma. These are rare cancers and most often affects people over thirty.

The most common symptom of the disease is pain. However, symptoms may vary depending on the location and size of the cancer. Sometimes firm, slightly tender lump on the bone can be felt through the skin. Sometimes it interferes with normal movements and can also weaken or cause bones to break. Tumors that occur in or near joints may cause swelling and tenderness in the affected area. Other symptoms may include fatigue, fever, weight loss, and anemia. It is important to check with a doctor when you experience these symptoms, but these symptoms can also be caused by other less serious conditions.

Treatment for some bone tumors may involve surgery, such as limb amputation. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are effective in some tumors (such as Ewing's sarcoma) but less so in others (such as chondrosarcoma). After treatment has been done for bone cancer, it is very important that regular follow-up or check-ups are done with your doctor, to be sure that cancer has not come back and treat it promptly if it does. Check-ups may be physical exam, x-rays, scans, blood tests, and other laboratory tests.

People who have been diagnosed of this disease may have many physical, emotional, practical worries. They may worry that removal of a limb or other surgery will affect not only how they look but how other people would feel about them. Patients can be helped to overcome all these through special support groups for youngsters with cancer and their families. The American Cancer Society, for example, is a nonprofit organization that has many services for patients and their familes.

Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy is a treatment which essentially involves providing the body with extra oxygen. The word 'Hyper' means 'increased' and 'Baric' refers to pressure. As we all know, Oxygen is one of the gases in the air that we breathe and is essential for life. The air that we breathe normally contains 21% oxygen. Breathing in 100% oxygen under increased pressure within a hyperbaric chamber allows extra oxygen to be forced into the blood stream and dissolved at a much faster rate than if pressure was not used. Another effect is the increased oxygen transport capacity of the blood. Under atmospheric pressure, oxygen transport is limited by the oxygen binding capacity of hemoglobin in red blood cells, which almost reaches saturation at atmospheric pressure, very little oxygen being transported by plasma. However Oxygen transport by plasma is significantly increased under HBO therapy.This extra oxygen can help where healing is retarded due to infection or limited blood supply through tissue damage.

Benefits of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy:

– HBO facilitates the growth of new blood vessels, enabling the transport of additional blood;
– HBO augments the body's natural defence mechanisms to fight infection and kill bacteria;
– HBO helps reduce any swelling that may occur around an area subjected to radiotherapy.

The treatment is normally painfree and is carried out in specially-designed chambers known as "hyperbaric chambers". There are two basic types of chamber: monoplace chambers and a multiplace chambers.

A monoplace hyperbaric chamber for treating one person at a time and involves the patient lying on a padded stretcher that is then slid into a clear plastic chamber about 2ft in width. Once inside, the door is closed and the chamber is pressurised.

Multiplace hyperbaric chambers can treat several people at a time. The multiplace chamber is the type most frequently used. These chambers are big enough to accommodate sometimes as many as a dozen patients at a time and it is possible to walk into them. Patients either sit on benches or lie inside these chambers. 100% pure oxygen is administered via either a mask or a clear plastic hood. HBO sessions usually last from one to three hours depending on the nature of the treatment program. Treatment sessions within the hyperbaric chamber are normally repeated over several days or even weeks.

HBO therapy is increasingly being used for helping patients who have been subjected to conventional radiotherapy treatment for cancer and are now suffering the after-effects. A major problem with radiotherapy is that, since it not only kills cancer cells but also nearby healthy cells at the same time, it can cause changes in the oxygen supply to tissues in the treated area, since less blood is supplied to the area. The result is that it becomes more difficult oxygen and essential nutrients to reach the tissues. Over a period of time these tissues can become very fragile, break down and ulcerate. Sometimes tissue can even completely die (radiation necrosis).

Studies indicate that HBO therapy can be effective in the following conditions:

– Chronic lymphoedema in breast cancer;
– Chronic radiation cystitis;
– Pelvic cancer;
– Bowel cancer;
– Prostate cancer;
– Osteoradionecrosis;
– Chronic radiation proctitis;
– Acute blood loss anemia

I hope that this brief article on Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy has provided a brief insight into the importance of oxygen in the correct functioning of the body, plus its role not only in the treatment of cancer but also how it can be used in overcoming some of the serious adverse side effects of conventional cancer treatments. Perhaps it will encourage you to further investigate this fascinating subject. As always, you should seek the guidance of a professional medical fractioned before taking any medications or undergoing any form of therapy.