Cancer, or, in other words, carcinoma, is one of the most dangerous oncological diseases of our time, threatening a person with severe damage to organs, up to the penetration of metastases into the bone. Currently, in developed countries, about 20% of all deaths are related to cancer. In developing countries, this figure is even higher. And although oncology is currently one of the most dynamic branches of medicine, the number of sick and dead is kept at the same level.
Factors causing cancer
The causes of malignant tumors in the scientific community are still debated. Among the most significant external factors are:
- physical, that is, exposure to radiation and ultraviolet rays, increasing due to the appearance of ozone holes;
- chemical, primarily associated with the use of carcinogens;
- biological, involving the effect on the body of certain pathogens.
In addition to external factors, internal ones play a significant role. Researchers note that in some cases, DNA does not have sufficient ability to repair, or immunity is weak.resists the spread of cancer. This allows us to talk about a person's hereditary predisposition to cancer.
Summing up all the research, scientists have developed a mutational theory of cancer. From this point of view, a cancer cell is formed as a result of genetic failures in an incompletely formed he althy cell under the influence of both external and internal factors. It is not yet possible to determine which of them are primary.
Development of cancer
There are several stages in the development of a malignant tumor. Early on, a person can receive treatment sufficient to overcome the illness. In the final, fourth stage, cancer poses a significant danger. The risk of death is so high that this stage is called terminal.
It is especially difficult to fight the disease when the tissue covers a secondary lesion, that is, metastasis. According to studies, bone tissue is the most susceptible to cancerous growths, and lesions most often cover the largest bones of the body, since they receive the most nutrients. In men, a secondary lesion occurs, for example, in the fourth stage of prostate cancer. Bone metastases in women are found in oncological diseases of the mammary glands.
Signs of metastasis formation
By the time metastases are released, the patient's body is so exhausted that it is unable to fight the spreadmalignant formations. The secondary lesion is accompanied by severe pain, limited mobility. The formation of bone metastases in lung, prostate, thyroid or kidney cancer is accompanied by other symptoms:
- fractures - bones become so brittle that even a slight load is enough to seriously injure the tissue;
- intoxication, expressed in weakness, lack of appetite, nausea and depression;
- compression of the cardiovascular and nervous systems associated with the fact that dense secondary malignant tumors exert strong pressure on areas of the body close to them;
- hypercalcemia - a sharp increase in the calcium content in the body, expressed in dryness, profuse urination, that is, dehydration of the body. It is the most serious among all emerging complications, because in a very short time it can disable all vital organs.
The formation of end-stage bone metastases can be accompanied by other manifestations, such as a change in the appearance and structure of the skin, up to the formation of ulcers, the appearance of previously undiagnosed diseases such as arthritis, osteochondrosis and rheumatism. With any alarm signal, you should immediately consult a doctor, because only with a detailed examination can you find out how far the disease has gone.
Life expectancy with secondary injury
For symptoms of bone metastasesMany people first of all think about how much they have left. And although such a diagnosis is not necessarily fatal, patients prefer to know a preliminary prognosis. Bone metastases, formed as a result of kidney cancer, completely destroy the body within a year. If a patient is diagnosed with thyroid cancer, then he has more time: from three to four years. But if a person has melanoma, then you need to start treatment as soon as possible, since death can occur in the next three to four months.
It should be borne in mind that life expectancy with bone metastases is determined not only by the nature of the disease that caused them, but also by the type of metastatic formation.
Diagnosis
Formation of bone metastases in grade 4 oncological disease is not always inevitable. But when alarming symptoms appear, a thorough medical examination is necessary. The most successful procedure is scintigraphy - diagnostics of the skeleton using the radionuclide method. Its accuracy is so great that it allows you to identify the first signs of the formation of metastases in the bones and ribs in the early stages. This method does not cause discomfort and pain to the patient and does not harm he alth. The only possible case of contraindications to the use of the radionuclide method is pregnancy.
A scintigraphy procedure that allows you to draw conclusions about the appearance of metastases in the bones, lasting only about an hour, despite its effectivenessperforms in combination with other diagnostic methods. One of them is the well-known x-ray. However, such a referral is rarely given to a patient, since the procedure is accompanied by irradiation of the body, and as a result, only mature neoplasms can be detected.
Computer and magnetic resonance imaging are used to detect osteological lesions. Unlike radiography, these methods do not affect the he alth of the patient, do not expose him to additional risk. After passing through these procedures, laboratory tests are taken, in particular a blood test. They allow you to identify signs of possible hypercalcemia, to determine the level of alkaline phosphatose.
Development of metastases
The main problem in the prevention of metastasis is the fact that a secondary lesion may appear several years after the primary one. The patient may be convinced that the disease has receded, but the confidence may turn out to be false: there are dormant metastases.
The reasons for the return of the disease in a more aggressive form include factors such as:
- structure of a malignant tumor;
- form of tumor development and growth;
- age of the patient (in younger people, the rate of formation and spread of metastases is higher than in the elderly).
Metastasis of the body occurs in three stages. In the first, the affected cell moves from the site of the initial spread of the tumor tolumen in a blood vessel and thus enters the blood or other body fluid. The second stage involves circulation throughout the body until it attaches to another organ. In the third stage, the cancer cell infects he althy cells, resulting in the formation of a metastatic node.
Metastasis pathways
Internal organs are washed by various fluids, which can become a way for cancer cells to move. The main ways metastases spread in the body include:
- hematogenous pathway - malignant tumors move through the blood vessels;
- lymphogenic pathway - cells separated from the focus of the primary spread of the tumor enter the lymph node;
- implantation path is typical for cancer of the gastrointestinal apparatus - malignant tumors germinate through the serous membrane, which is lined from the inside of the abdominal and chest cavities.
Metastasis treatment
If a medical diagnosis reveals the presence of bone metastases, treatment should be the patient's primary concern. Folk remedies, prayers at holy springs and similar methods will not help in any way. Only high-quality therapy can bring real benefit to the patient. In its implementation, the doctor pursues several equally important goals at once:
- reduce pain;
- destruction of metastatic formations and prevention of their further spread;
- removal of toxins formed in the process of metastasis from the body;
- eliminationsymptoms and comorbidities.
The development of oncological medicine allows us to offer the patient a comprehensive treatment. It is based on the use of drugs of the bisphosphonate class, which prevent bone loss and are administered intravenously. Their other properties include preventing the further spread of the secondary lesion and the decay of bone tissue. Bisphosphonates reduce the risk of fractures, relieve pain, and regulate calcium levels, which is especially important in progressive hypercalcemia. Typically, these drugs are used for multiple myeloma, breast cancer and prostate cancer: these diseases are most often associated with bone metastases.
Non-pharmacological treatments
Treatment alone can only guarantee temporary improvement. With such a dangerous disease as a secondary lesion, a number of additional procedures are used for successful treatment, which include:
- radiotherapy that prevents bone destruction and CSF compression by destroying metastatic cells. The minimum required number of such procedures is ten;
- radiopharmaceutical therapy involving intravenous injections of samarium-153 or strontium-89, which destroy a significant number of malignant cells;
- chemotherapy combined with hormone therapy prevents cancer cells from spreading throughout the body;
- immunotherapy is especially needed in the terminal stage, when the body is no longer able tocontain the progressing disease on their own. In this case, the introduction of artificial proteins and vitamins is practiced;
- surgery is a controversial method, but it is often used in practice. Its essence is to remove malignant neoplasms.
Treatment of bone metastases is a long and unpleasant process. In addition to performing the procedures described above and taking medications, the patient must follow the diet prescribed by the attending physician and perform only permissible physical activity. Unfortunately, even with modern methods and the latest equipment, it is impossible to guarantee a 100% successful outcome for the patient. Very often, unforeseen circumstances arise in which it is impossible to use certain medical procedures or take the necessary drugs. The presence or absence of new complications determines the duration and success of treatment.
Rehabilitation after treatment
Methods of treatment, despite their necessity and effectiveness, have a depressing effect on the body already weakened by the disease. Of no small importance is the restoration of the patient's psychological state: for a long time he had to wage a difficult struggle with a dangerous disease. Post-oncological rehabilitation is all the more important after secondary tissue damage, which is bone metastases.
The course of restorative medicine is not just to bring the state of the body back to normal. It is an integral part of the prevention of a possible relapse: as alreadyit was noted that dormant bone metastases in cancer are quite real.
In today's society, there are strong negative stereotypes about some rehabilitation procedures after oncological diseases - such as mud therapy, acupuncture, physiotherapy. But it should be borne in mind that these methods are really undesirable and even harmful during the treatment process, while at the recovery stage they are quite effective. In any case, when drawing up a rehabilitation course, the attending physician takes into account all the individual characteristics of the patient.
Significant influence is given to the psychological state. As soon as they find out about the presence of bone metastases in them, many people themselves write out a death sentence for themselves. In such cases, the help of a specialist is needed. You should not hope that a person will return to normal thanks to communication with relatives or friends: they are often not capable of constructive dialogue and make every effort to regret and sympathize, rather than talk about problems.
Ergotherapy should be a significant part of the rehabilitation program. For a long time spent in the hospital, a person loses the skills of social adaptation. It is the return to normal life that is the goal of postoncological treatment. It is fundamentally important that the patient once again learns to live independently, and not in a hospital bed, to be able to return to work and social activity. After all, that's what he fought cancer for.
