In addition to chemotherapy, hormonal therapy and radiation, your doctor may consider these therapeutic options to shrink bone mets and ease your symptoms.
Bisphosphonates
Given intravenously every three to four weeks, these drugs help build up bone to reduce pain and fracture risk.
You might be a candidate if your bones are thinning.
Denosumab
Denosumab helps increase bone strength. Injected into the skin every four weeks, it inhibits a protein that activates bone loss.
You might be a candidate if your bones are thinning.
Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy helps doctors bolster a patient's immune system so it's able to more effectively kill cancer cells.
You might be a candidate if your bones are thinning.
Radiopharmaceuticals
These drugs are injected and travel to the tumor, where they emit radiation that kills cancer cells and halts tumor growth.
You might be a candidate if you have abnormal bone growth.
Surgery
If a bone has broken or is in danger of breaking, doctors can stabilize it by inserting screws, rods or pins, or by injecting cement into bones or collapsed vertebrae to strengthen them.
You might be a candidate if you have a fracture.