Options For Bone Cancer Treatment

Curettage

An individual affected by bone cancer that occurs in certain bones may need treatment with a procedure called curettage, which is only used for bone cancer that cannot be resected or excised safely like those in the skull and spine. During a curettage, the physician uses special tools to scrape the tumor out of the patient's bone. This method allows most of the tumor to be removed without actually removing a full section of the bone. This process causes a hole to be left behind in the bone where the cancerous cells were scraped out. In most cases, this procedure alone is not enough to eliminate all of the cancerous cells in the bone. Two methods can be used following a curettage to kill the leftover cancer cells. Cryosurgery is a procedure where the hole left from the curettage is filled with liquid nitrogen. The liquid nitrogen freezes away the tumor cells been left behind after curettage. Bone cement is another method used following curettage where liquid cement is poured into the hole. The liquid cement becomes very hot as it hardens, killing the remaining cancer cells.

Keep reading to learn more about treating bone cancer effectively now.