The surgery you have will depend on the type of bone tumour and where exactly in your body it is. The most important task of the surgeon will be to remove the entire tumour, but at the same time cause as little long term effect as possible. Everyone and every tumour is different, so you might meet other people with the same type of tumour, but you might have slightly different surgery. Your specialist will talk this through with you in detail and will make sure that you fully understand what's involved. If you want to know more about what happens when you go in for an operation, there is more in the section containing general information about surgery.
There have been a lot of improvements in surgery for bone cancer over the last few years. Most people with bone tumours used to have their limb removed but now it’s usually possible to remove only the affected part of the bone. This is replaced by a special metal implant or bone from somewhere else in your body. This is known as limb-sparing surgery.
Sometimes, however, doctors advise that the whole limb should be removed. This is called an amputation. It is only ever done if there is no alternative: sometimes it is the only way to get rid of all the cancer cells. Sometimes people choose to have the limb removed - this is very much a personal choice and will depend on your situation. To make the right decision for you, it is important to find out what you will and won't be able to do with the different types of surgery. For example, if sport is important, will you be able to carry on with it? Ask lots of questions!
If you want more information about these types of surgery or general information about surgery, have a look in the surgery section.
