Monthly Cancer Awareness

JULY IS BONE CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

Bone Cancer Awareness Month  is held annually in July. It is marked across the world to raise awareness for bone cancer. The official ribbon colour for Bone Cancer Awareness Month  `is yellow. Bone Cancer Awareness month is an opportunity to bring public awareness to Bone Cancer and to persons battling this disease. It is also a month to express gratitude to all those working tirelessly on better ways to prevent, detect and treat Bone Cancer.

Bone Cancer begins when bone cells multiply unusually and rapidly and begin to break down the bone. Bone Cancer cells can also break away from the bone and travel to other bones, or other organs in the body when they can continue to grow as secondary tumours.

Signs and Symptoms of bone cancer: Some of the common symptoms of bone cancer include:-

• Pain in the affected bone: Pain in the affected bone is the most common sign of the bone cancer. Initially, pain may be intermittent and appear only with activity, but in advanced stages, there is continuous pain that last long.
• Swelling: Pain may be followed by swelling in the region.
• Bone weakness: Fracture, though uncommon, may occur due to weakening of bone as a result of tumor. Other symptoms include unintended weight loss, fatigue, tingling and numbness if the spine is involved.

Risk factors for bone cancer:

Most known risk factors for bone cancer are :-

• Exposure to radiation (usually during radiation therapy).
• Age and certain bone diseases and inherited conditions that cannot change.
• There are no known lifestyle-related or environmental causes of bone cancer, currently there is no way to protect against bone cancers.

Prevention:

Preventive measures are not yet established for bone cancer. Although, knowledge of risk factors and timely medical assistance can help diagnose bone cancer in its initial stages and thus can be treated effectively. Early detection is the only hope for successful treatment of the diseases.