Secondary Bone Cancer

The main symptoms of secondary bone cancer include:

• Bone pain
• Weakened bones
• Raised calcium levels in the blood; this can cause dehydration, confusion, vomiting and constipation
• Low number of red blood cells, which can cause anaemia
• Low number of white blood cells, which can result in a higher number of infections, bruising and possible bleeding

When doctors are testing for a primary tumour they will investigate if the tumour has spread elsewhere in the body and developed a secondary cancer.

The most common primary tumours that can spread to the bones and cause secondary bone cancer are located in the:

• Breast
• Prostate
• Lung
• Thyroid
• Kidney

However, it is possible for any type of cancer to spread to the bone.

As secondary bone cancers are made up of different tumour cells than that of a primary bone cancer, the treatment and management of secondary bone cancer is very different from primary bone cancer.

If you are looking for information about secondary bone cancer, or its treatment, you will need to find information about the primary cancer site (i.e breast, prostate, lung, thyroid, kidney etc).

Feel free to contact us if you require any further information.

You may also find the following sites helpful:

• Cancer Research UK: secondary cancer in the bones
• Macmillan Cancer Support: secondary bone cancer
• Irish Cancer Society: secondary bone cancer