What to Know About Chemotherapy for Primary Bone Cancer

Chemotherapy drugs kill all cells that grow rapidly, including cancer cells.

Chemotherapy uses drugs to kill cancer. It is a systemic treatment. This means that it travels throughout your body in your bloodstream, killing cancer cells along the way.

Who Needs Chemotherapy

Your doctor will probably suggest chemotherapy if you have osteosarcoma, Ewing ’s sarcoma, or malignant fibrous histiocytoma. These types of bone cancer respond well to chemotherapy. Your doctor may also recommend chemotherapy if the cancer has spread to other organs. The kind of drugs you get depend on the type of tumor you have.

Chemotherapy With Other Treatment

You may get chemotherapy alone or with surgery. Your doctor may suggest it as your only treatment in these cases.

• The tumor cannot be removed with surgery.

• You have a sarcoma that has spread or come back after treatment.

• Radiation would be difficult

Chemotherapy before surgery is called neoadjuvant chemotherapy. This can shrink the tumor and make it easier to remove.

Chemotherapy after surgery is called adjuvant chemotherapy. This helps