Bone cancer is the formation of cancerous cells on or within some area of the skeletal system. Most occurrences of bone cancer are metastatic, meaning that the cancer initially originated in another part of the body and has now spread to the bone. However, there is the potential, though relatively rare, to develop a primary form of the disease. When this is the case, the cancer is usually seen in growing bone tissue or the cartilage. Regardless of the origin or formation, radiation therapy is one mode of care available to treat the disease.
Radiation
With this form of treatment, external beams of ionizing energy are focused directly on the "target tissue" of the affected bones. As the energy penetrates the skin, it pierces the abnormal cells damaging their genetic make-up. This can either kill the cancer cells over time or prevent them from dividing and thereby impeding the cancer's growth.
The type and dose of radiation administered depends greatly on the type of cancer you're dealing with as well as its location, especially when nearby organs can be damaged by the radiation. For some people, they'll go through a form of radiation therapy known as external beam radiation therapy, which is a procedure where a beam of radiation, usually an X-ray, is directed on the tumor daily for upwards of two months.
For others, intensity modulated radiation therapy, also known simply as IMRT, is used to treat the cancer. In this form of radiation therapy, a precise beam (about the circumference of a pencil) is administered in a fairly high dose without affecting much of the surrounding tissue. It is often used with malignant tumors found on the spine or in harder to reach places within the body.
Adjunct Treatment
Both external beam radiation and intensity modulated radiation therapies are commonly used as forms of adjunct treatment, but may also, in some cases, be used as the sole form of therapy or palliative care (which essentially uses radiation to lessen any pain or other symptoms of the disease). When used in combination with another form of treatment, the radiation can be administered either before or after surgery. In these situations, the tumor is shrunk in size before surgery is performed to remove the diseased tissue or any remaining cancerous cells are killed following the removal of the tumor.
External beam radiation therapy may also be used in conjunction with chemotherapy. And much like with surgery, radiation is administered either before or after the use of chemo drugs to better treat the cancer.
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