By Chris Ryan and Dr. Kevin Buckman
Sarcoma is medical jargon for a tumor of the connective tissue which is malignant or cancerous. We might think our bones being ‘dead’ components of our body but it is actually the opposite. Bones are quite alive and the proof being that fractures wouldn’t heal if they weren’t.
There are several kinds of tissues in bones like osteoid, cartilaginous, and fibrous (or connective) tissue. All of these types of tissues can be affected by both benign or malignant tumors. Bone tumors are classified on the basis of the origin tissue.
Bone sarcoma are of four major types – chondrosarcoma, fibrosarcoma, osteosarcoma, and lastly Ewing’s sarcoma. All these tumors have both malignant and benign variants.
Malignant tumors arising in the skeletal system usually seem to affect people within certain age ranges. Osteosarcoma (also referred to as osteogenic sarcoma) for instance is seen primarily in teenagers whereas Ewing’s sarcoma tends to affect children between the ages of 5 to 10 as well as young adults in their 20s. Middle aged people in their 50s or 60s are usually susceptible to Chondrosarcoma as well as fibrosarcoma. The prognosis for those patients who are over 40 years and suffering from osteosarcoma is usually not a very good one.
Around 2,500 cases of connective joints and bone cancers are detected and treated in the United States every year. This accounts for barely 0.2 percent of total new cancers cases. The vast bulk of these patients suffer from osteosarcomas. Leaving aside multiple myeloma (or multiple bone cancers), the most common type without doubt of malignant bone tumor is osteosarcoma. The treatment processes used to treat these tumors in children have subsequently been used in the treatment of other rare bone cancers in adults.
Bone sarcomas are in a sense still a mystery as the reason for their occurrence is unknown. However, it can be said with some confidence that osteosarcoma development increases with exposure to radiation. Patients who have been exposed to high-levels of radiation therapy in the past for the treatment of conditions like tuberculosis of the joints or thyroid disease can develop Fibrosarcomas. The days, of course, due precautions are taken and any excessive use of radiation has been avoided to a large extent. Radiation exposure is carefully controlled to minimize any possibility of radiation-related cancer.
It has been found that rapid growth of bones is a key factor contributing to the expansion of this disease, as the most common occurrence sites usually are those areas of where the bone divides more rapidly (for instance areas which are nearest to the ‘physes’ or ‘growth plates’).
Medical evidence also suggests that the prevalence of the polyomavirus, called SV40, is linked to osteosarcoma, although there is no conclusive proof even as the debate on this issue rages on. Various epidemiological studies have linked the fluoridation of water supply to a rise in the cases of osteosarcoma. Evidence also suggests there may be a genetic tendency to people getting bone cancer.
About www.cancer.im
When an individual is diagnosed with cancer, the feeling of panic is overwhelming. As loved ones hear the news, they too are overwhelmed and often do not know what to do. Cancer.im provides a common sense approach to managing this chaos and uncertainty. The goal is to increase the patient’s quality of life and enable them to take back control.
Cancer.im is a social network for cancer patients, advocates, and volunteers. Members can connect to other people affected by cancer, organize the personal and professional resources available to them, research the qualitative and quantitative aspects of cancer, and create a customized strategy for beating or preventing the disease.
Cancer.im was founded by people with firsthand experience with cancer. Cancer.im continues to grow by the individuals who continually donate their time, resources, and experience to helping cancer patients navigate the obstacles they face. Our driving principles are based on clinical data which have shown that:
- Cancer patients who have an active support network, outlive cancer patients who do not
- Increasing a Cancer Patient’s Quality of Life, directly lowers the incidence of morbidity
Together, we believe that the Cancer.im social network can change the way in which patients view and manage their disease.
Cancer.im is guided by the following principles which collectively make up our mission.
- Cancer is a generic term used to describe a unique disease. We want to empower every cancer patient with the information and resources they need to create a customized cancer strategy as unique as they are.
- Cancer experiences are often characterized by feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. We want to turn cancer patients from hopeless to hopeful, and cancer advocates from helpless to helpful.
- Every individual who has been through an experience with cancer has unique wisdom that others can benefit from. We want to harvest and organize this wisdom and make it available to the world.
- Cancer patients who have an active support network outlive cancer patient who do not. We want to empower every cancer patient, regardless of their ability to pay, with the ability of organizing and managing their own support network and outlive this disease.
- Increasing a cancer patient’s quality of life directly lowers the incidence of morbidity. We want to organize and empower those who surround a patient with the knowledge and ability to directly affect that patient’s quality of life for the better by alleviating the daily burden associated with cancer.
With these principles always in mind, and the continual dedication of our online community, we can change the way the world views and manages cancer!