Bone Fractures as Early Warning Signs of Bone Cancer

Malignancy of the bones is a complex health condition that is often not diagnosed early in the condition development. If you've recently suffered a bone fracture, and if that fracture is quite painful and not healing properly, it may be prudent to seek out medical attention to determine if you are suffering from a bone cancer complication.

Bone cancer, while painful, is often overlooked as a health risk when a patient complains of nausea, overall pain, and changes in digestion. Because we typically do not associate these symptoms with a bone cancer risk, patients and physicians often look to other acute health issues including flu or general viral infection. If you have these symptoms, and if they are not easily resolved, then looking for a possible bone cancer diagnosis may be prudent especially if a bone fracture is also a co-morbid health risk.

In many cases, bone fractures are the first indication of a complication with bone cancer and often this diagnosis is determined when a fracture occurs without any type of injury or trauma. Because bone cancer commonly affects the long bones of the body, if your bone fracture is affecting a long bone, including your spine, then further work up for a possible bone cancer diagnosis is further necessary.

With blood work and a CT scan of the bones affected, most patients with bone cancer can be diagnosed effectively and begin treatment for the bone metastasis that is present. The key to diagnosing the health complication, however, will come by way of the blood work which will show elevated enzymes only seen in a bone cancer complication.

Bone fractures, in most cases, are not health complications that need to be addressed further by an oncologist. If your bone fracture did not arise out of an injury or trauma, and if a long bone in the body is affected, it is important to inquire about the bone testing that can be done to rule out, or confirm, the present of a cancer complication. With early diagnosis, like most cancers, treatment can aggressive suppress the cancer and provide you with a better quality of life.

Sources: Bone Metastasis, by American Cancer Society