How Cancer and Cancer Treatment Affect Your Bones
Bone cancers start in the bones, and other types of cancer can spread to the bones. Once in the bones, cancer often causes pain and increases your risk for fractures and other complications. However, cancer doesn’t have to be in the bones to affect your bone health.
“Cancer can affect bones in multiple ways, and that includes both cancer and treatments we use for cancer,” says Panagiota Andreopoulou, M.D., assistant professor of Clinical Medicine and board-certified endocrinologist specializing in bone disorders at Weill Cornell Medicine. “At the advanced stages, cancer can affect the strength of the individual. It can lead to muscle loss, bone loss and fractures.”
Cancer in the Bones
Every one of your bones contains osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Osteoclasts break down old bones, making room for the new bone created by osteoblasts.
When cancer starts in or spreads to the bones, the bone creation and break-down process slows down or speeds up. This change causes you to have too much bone or not enough. Either way, your bones weaken, and you may experience:
- Broken bones
- Excessive calcium in the blood caused by too much broken down bone
- Nerve damage and potential paralysis if the cancer spreads to the spine
Though most types of cancer can affect the bones, some cancers are more likely to spread to the bones. These include:
- Breast cancer
- Kidney cancer
- Lung cancer
- Prostate cancer Thyroid cancer
Cancer Teatment and Bone Health
According to the National Cancer Institute, radiation therapy and chemotherapy could potentially cause bone density loss. When this happens, you may wind up with secondary osteoporosis.
Unlike primary osteoporosis, secondary osteoporosis isn’t caused by aging or menopause. Rather, it’s caused by something outside of your body or a disease process.
If you have secondary osteoporosis, your bones weaken. These weak bones increase your risk for bone fractures and decreased quality of life.
Protect Your Bones at All Times
“Cancer and cancer treatment can severely impact skeletal health and increase morbidity and mortality,” Dr. Andreopoulou says. “However, we can offset a lot of these effects.”
To do this, Dr. Andreopoulou suggests three steps.
- Get screened. A simple bone density scan (DEXA) can help determine the health of your bones. Depending on the type of cancer you have, your provider may check your bone health before treatment. Additional DEXA scans allow your team to monitor your bone health during and after cancer treatment.
- Make healthy lifestyle modifications. Eat a healthy diet with plenty of calcium and vitamin D. Take supplements if necessary. You should also exercise regularly. Walking, weightlifting and other weight-bearing exercises encourage new bone growth. Yoga and stretching can improve range of motion and flexibility.
- Take medication. If cancer or cancer treatment causes osteoporosis, medication may help. The most common osteoporosis medications are called antiresorptives. These medicines can help slow the process of bone loss.
Do your bones need a checkup? Find a doctor at Weill Cornell Medicine for a bone screening, expert cancer care and more.