Introduction
Only a few decades ago, the treatment for bone cancer was amputation.  But this did not guarantee long-term survival - many patients who had an amputation later died from metastases.  Today, medical advancements offer a number of successful treatment options that make survival probable.  Chemotherapy drugs can be used both before and after surgery to help kill cancer cells anywhere in the body. 

Radiation therapy targets the cancer in its specific location and causes cell death.  New surgical techniques involving endoprostheses, allografts, and allograft prosthetic composites provide reconstruction alternatives for patients whose tumors have been surgically removed.  Because of these improvements in medicine and technology, survival rates for bone cancer patients have increased dramatically over the last several years.  Amputation is now used in only a few instances.  With the proper combination of chemotherapy, radiation, and/or surgery, patients are more likely than ever to find a cure for their bone cancer.