What Are Some Bone Cancer Symptoms in Women?
Bone cancer symptoms are not gender specific and include bone pain, unexplained weight loss, fatigue, a broken bone, and swelling and tenderness, according to Mayo Clinic. The most common types of bone cancer are osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma and Ewing’s sarcoma.
The cause of bone cancer is not known, but researchers believe certain factors increase the possibility of developing bone cancer, explains Mayo Clinic. These risk factors include Paget’s disease, radiation therapy for cancer and certain inherited genetic syndromes. Bone cancer starts as an error in the DNA of a cell, causing the cell to grow and divide uncontrollably and resulting in a mass of cells or tumor.
However, most tumors that develop in the bone are not cancerous, explains WebMD. Doctors refer to tumors that are not cancerous as benign, and these tumors do not spread throughout the body. Benign types of bone tumors include osteochondroma, osteoid osteoma, osteoblastoma and enchomdroma. Giant cell tumor is also most often benign.
Bone cancer is not as common as some other types of cancer and most often affects a person’s arm or leg bones. It’s important to note that bone cancer is cancer that begins in the bone, not cancer that spreads to the bone from another site in the body, explains Mayo Clinic. Cancers that can spread to the bone from other areas include lung, prostate and breast cancer, adds WebMD.
