Living with bone cancer
Having bone surgery can be a lot to cope with. After bone surgery, you will have regular physiotherapy to help get you going again.
Treatment for bone cancer may lead to permanent disability, but it is important to know that many people can adapt to get back to their normal activities. Physical functioning can improve but it can take a long time after treatment - sometimes several years.
Read about the different types of bone cancer surgery
Occupational therapists can help you find ways to manage everyday life and keep you as independent as possible. They may suggest or arrange for aids or equipment that can help make your life easier to manage. Or they might recommend adaptions to your home.
Occupational therapists can also help deal with some treatment related side effects such as fatigue, pain and nerve changes (neuropathy).
You might need further operations in the future if you have limb sparing surgery. If you are young and had not finished growing when you had your operation, you may need to have the prosthesis replaced as you get bigger.
Some prostheses are made to lengthen as the skeleton grows. If you have one of these, you still need to go into hospital from time to time to have it extended. You either have a small operation. Or in some cases it can be done without surgery, using a motor inside the implant which is lengthened using electro magnets.
When you have a false joint or bone you might develop some sort of complication that needs surgery to put it right. This might be an infection or a problem with the prosthesis.
You might have:
pain
swelling
fever
an open wound over the operation site
Your false joint might feel different or seem unstable to you if it is coming loose. It might be making a noise that it hasn't made before if there is some sort of mechanical failure. Get it checked out by your surgeon.
False bones and joints very rarely break.
After several years, there may be signs of wear and tear in your false bone or joint. The plastic surfaces of the joint or bone can become worn and need replacing. If you had a metal rod inserted into your bone this can sometimes become loose and so may need replacing or strengthening.
If you had a false knee fitted due to bone cancer, you are likely to need further surgery at some point in the future.
Pain is often nerve pain (also called neuropathic pain). It's caused by pressure on nerves. Speak to your healthcare team if you suffer from pain. There are many ways to control pain.
Swelling of a limb can be uncomfortable and cause pain if the swelling presses on a nerve. It can also affect your mobility and how you feel about yourself.
Ask your healthcare team to refer you to a specialist that deals with swelling if you are struggling with a swollen limb.
Limb sparing surgery can be a very big operation involving cutting into a lot of tissue, bone and muscle. It may leave you with a long scar. You might have some tightness and discomfort if you have radiotherapy to the area, as this can make healthy tissues less stretchy over time.
Having major surgery and scarring can cause different problems.
You will have trouble moving the affected limb to start with. But your physiotherapists will give you lots of exercises that will gradually make moving easier for you.
How you look is an important part of your self esteem. It can be very hard to accept sudden changes in your looks that you are not happy with.
It is not unusual for people who have had limb sparing surgery to feel confused and upset for some time after their operation. You may feel worried about how your friends and family see you. You may feel that you are no longer as physically attractive. Going back to work, meeting new people and going for job interviews can all be more of a struggle if you are coping with changes in your appearance.
The important thing to remember is that the people closest to you will not see you any differently as a person. Try and talk to them, they can help to support you when they know how you feel.
Changes to your appearance might affect how you feel about sex.
Read more about sex after cancer
It can seem to take a long time before you can move around normally again and this may make you feel very low. It can take many months before you can weigh bear comfortably on your false limb. And it may take a while before your limb is completely comfortable. .
There is help and support available if you need it. Your doctor could arrange counselling for you.
Sarcoma UK provides help and support for people with bone or soft tissue sarcomas. You can call or email them in confidence.
Last reviewed: 13 Feb 2025
Next review due: 13 Feb 2028
Surgery is one of the main treatments for bone cancer. Surgery for primary bone cancer is a very specialised treatment. You have your operation at a specialist centre.
The main treatments for cancer that starts in your bone include surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy. You might have a combination of these treatments. Find out more.
You may find it difficult coping with a diagnosis of bone cancer both practically and emotionally. Find out about the things you can do and who can help you cope.
Getting practical and emotional support can help you cope with a diagnosis of bone cancer.
Coping with cancer can be difficult. There is help and support available. Find out about the emotional, physical and practical effects of cancer and how to manage them.
Primary bone cancer is cancer that has started in any bone of your body.
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