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Brian Wickman, a survivor of thyroid cancer and sarcoma Presented at the 2007 Annual Cancer Survivorship Celebration
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As with any type of cancer, the outlook for a patient is best when bone cancer is found early. The location of the initial tumor and whether the disease has spread are important factors for determining outcome, although there are many factors that can affect outcome for any individual patient.
Limb Preservation
While a diagnosis of cancer can be frightening, a bone cancer diagnosis carries with it the additional fear of the possible loss of a limb. Surgeons will try to preserve your limb whenever they can reasonably do so. The good news is that in many cases they can. A key issue is whether the tumor's position allows surgeons to remove it. Memorial Sloan-Kettering surgeons have perfected a number of techniques for preserving limb function after bone cancer surgery. In some cases, the limb can be saved even when the insides of the bone need to be removed.
If an amputation has to be done to be absolutely sure that as much of the cancer as possible has been removed, surgeons will try to perform the operation in such a way that the patient can have the best possible quality of life. There will always be a period of adjustment -- both emotionally and physically -- to the loss of a limb, but new surgical techniques and improved prostheses have made this adjustment easier. Most patients can resume active, even athletic, lives after losing a limb or part of a limb to bone cancer.
Pain Management
Relief of pain is an important issue for many patients with bone cancer. Memorial Sloan-Kettering doctors have established pain management as a specialty, and work together with other members of your healthcare team to ensure that your pain is managed adequately.
