A Landmark Study on Palliation of Bone Mets PainWhen a primary cancer such as cancer of the breast, prostate or lung spreads to the bone (bone mets), treatment strategies become complex. In today’s world of oncology, better systemic chemotherapies can add months and even years to a patient’s life; in addition, local cancer control of […] KEEP READING
What You Should Know About CartilageOne of the most fascinating components of the human body is cartilage, an incredibly versatile material. Trying to describe cartilage is like the six blind men who try to figure out what an elephant is: “The elephant is like a pillar,” said the man who touched his leg. “Oh no! […] KEEP READING
How Stress Makes Essential Tremor WorseEssential tremor (ET) is the most common form of uncontrollable rhythmic shaking, though it is sometimes misdiagnosed as Parkinson’s disease. The involuntary trembling results from abnormal communication between certain areas of the brain (cerebellum, thalamus, and brain stem). It is estimated that 10 million Americans suffer from ET, though many […] KEEP READING
Cancer that metastasizes (spreads) to the bone can eventually lead to severe bone pain. Initially, the pain may come and go. Often, it’s worse a night. Early on, there are medications that can relieve the pain, but as it becomes more agonizing many patients end up on morphine. In addition, bone mets can weaken bones […] CONTINUE
If cancer spreads from the primary tumor (e.g. breast cancer, prostate cancer, etc.) to the bone, it can do a lot of damage. Metastasis to the bone—or bone mets—can weaken the bone, making it vulnerable to a fracture that’s difficult to repair. Even more frightening, bone mets cause fierce pain for 50-75% of patients. For […] CONTINUE
The human skeleton is remarkable architecture. It is a framework of bone and cartilage that supports and gives shape to the body. It may be hard to imagine that bones can develop tumors, which are cells multiplying out of control, but it can happen. If it does, most of the time the tumors are benign […] CONTINUE
Marrow is a “metastatic niche” Prostate cancer (PCa) and breast cancer (BCa) have some key features in common: When found early and properly treated, survival rates for each are very high Prostate and breast tumors tend to be hormone dependent (androgens for prostate, estrogen for breast) If treatment of the local tumor fails, both cancers […] CONTINUE
Prostate cancer bone metastasis Roughly 11-12% of men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer (PCa) in their lifetime. Upwards of 20% of treated patients will eventually experience recurrence. One out of 41 PCa patients will die from the disease, since PCa has the ability to metastasize (spread) to distant organs and skeletal sites. In fact, […] CONTINUE
As if a diagnosis of breast cancer (BCa) wasn’t hard enough, learning that the disease had spread to the bone (BCa bone mets) is especially scary. About 15-20% of BCa patients will have bone mets, which have to occur in order to be identified. By that time, there are many effective approaches for lesion control […] CONTINUE
Bone basics Most of us don’t think very often about our bones until something goes wrong. Instead, we pay attention to daily maintenance of outer aspects that are changeable. For example, we care about how nice our hair looks, we want our skin to glow with health, and we worry if our overall appearance is […] CONTINUE
“De novo” Stage IV breast cancer diagnosis Roughly 6-10% of women initially diagnosed with breast cancer (BCa) are found to have Stage IV disease. This means that the cancer has already spread to distant sites, e.g. bone or liver. This is called de novo Stage IV breast cancer. “De novo,” a Latin term, literally means […] CONTINUE
How breast cancer spreads A diagnosis of breast cancer starts a chain of research, further tests, and anxiety. Although mortality rates have gradually been dropping, an understandable worry is the fear of the disease having spread microscopically at the time of diagnosis. Thankfully, screening programs work, and most breast cancer is detected early when it […] CONTINUE
Prostate cancer bone metastasis In the U.S., prostate cancer (PCa) is the third leading cause of cancer death among men. It is estimated that about 1 out of 8 men will be diagnosed with PCa, and nearly one in 40 will die from it. If left untreated, prostate cancer tumors will grow, become more aggressive, […] CONTINUE
