Bone cancer

Treatment for bone cancer

The main treatments for cancer that starts in your bone (primary bone cancer) include:

surgery
chemotherapy
radiotherapy

You might have a combination of these treatments. Some people might have a targeted treatment. Find out more.

This section is about cancer that starts in your bone (primary bone cancer). If your cancer has spread into bone from another part of the body, it is called secondary bone cancer.

Preparing for treatment and life afterwards (prehabilitation)

There are things you can do to help you feel more in control of your health when preparing for treatment. This is called prehabilitation or prehab.

Treatment options for bone cancer

The main treatments for cancer that starts in your bone (primary bone cancer) include surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

Surgery for bone cancer

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.

Chemotherapy for bone cancer

Chemotherapy works very well for some types of bone cancer. There are different reasons why you might have chemotherapy treatment.

Radiotherapy for bone cancer

Radiotherapy uses high energy x-rays to treat cancer. You don't routinely have radiotherapy for all types of bone cancer. Find out more.

Targeted cancer drugs for bone cancer

You might have a targeted cancer drug for primary bone cancer. Targeted cancer drugs change the way cells work and help the body to control the growth of cancer.