When Cancer Impacts the Bones
- Music and TV personality LL Cool J’s wife Simone Smith, 57, was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer in 2004 after discovering a knot on her leg while getting a leg wax. She underwent a 15-hour surgery to remove the tumor and spent two years relearning how to walk. She’s now cancer-free.
- Smith was diagnosed with chondrosarcoma, which begins in the cartilage tissue.
- When cancer originates in the bone, it’s considered primary bone cancer. When cancer spreads to the bones, it is considered secondary cancer. The most common cancer types that spread to the bone are breast, prostate, and lung cancer.
- When cancer spreads to the bones, it can cause issues with pain, function, and quality of life. Many treatments exist to help with pain and improve function.
Simone Smith, 57, and LL Cool J—whose real name is James Smith—first met in 1987 and married in 1995. Many years later, Smith, a mother of four, said that life would change forever after she got her legs waxed for the first time.
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Shortly thereafter, the knot on Smith’s leg grabbed her attention again when her shin hit a small garbage can, causing the knot to swell.
“That’s what sent me to the doctor and how I found out,” Smith said.
Smith discovered she had a cancerous tumor in her right tibia, which is the bone in the lower leg. She underwent a 15-hour procedure to remove the tumor.
“I had to have a microvascular reconstructive surgery—which lasted 15 hours—where they removed my right tibia bone where the tumor was found and had to replace it with my left fibula bone [and] a steel rod,” Smith said.
After the long procedure, Smith endured several weeks of physical therapy. It took her roughly two years to relearn how to walk again.
After recovering, she was deemed “cancer-free.” Since her own cancer journey, Smith and her famous husband have become advocates for cancer patients and research.
Bone Health While Coping With Cancer
Understanding Bone Cancer and How It Is Treated
Primary bone cancer means the cancer originates in the bone itself, and it is extremely rare—“less than one percent,” the National Cancer Institute says. Most bone cancer is a secondary cancer, meaning it originated elsewhere in the body.
WATCH: Bone Marrow Biopsy
The main types of primary bone cancers include:
- Osteosarcoma can grow quickly and spread to other parts of the body.
- Chondrosarcoma, which begins in the cartilage tissue.
- Ewing sarcoma is a fast-growing tumor that can spread to other parts of the body.
- Chordoma is a rare, slow-growing tumor. It is more likely to form in the spine.
Smith was diagnosed with chondrosarcoma.
People diagnosed with bone cancer may experience pain or swelling near a bone. However, not all bone cancers and tumors (benign and malignant) present symptoms.
Treatment options depend largely on specific details of the cancer and the patient’s overall health. However, surgery, chemotherapy, radiation, targeted therapy, and cryosurgery (freezes cancer cells to kill them) are common treatment methods.
When Cancer Spreads to Your Bones
As noted above, when cancer originates in the bone, it’s considered primary bone cancer. However, when cancer reaches advanced stages and spreads to other parts of the body in a process called metastasis, the bones are susceptible to that spread. When cancer spreads to the bones, it is considered secondary cancer.
WATCH: Breast cancer and bone health.
Certain cancers are more likely to spread to the bones compared with other cancers. The most common cancer types that spread to the bone are breast, prostate, and lung cancer. However, if you have been diagnosed with one of these cancers it does not mean that it will spread your bones, as most people with these cancers can be cured when the cancer is caught early before it has time to spread.
What It Feels Like When Cancer Spreads to the Bones
When cancer spreads to the bone, it can cause many different symptoms. The most common symptom of cancer that spreads to the bone is pain. This pain is often very focal, meaning you can typically point to where you have the pain. The pain is sometimes described as a gnawing pain that is always present and does not go away without pain medication.
Although most pain can be localized to a specific point, this is not always the case, and it’s possible you may have a more vague, achy type of pain. Although most people with bone metastases will have pain, some will not have any symptoms at all and will only know the cancer has spread when they have imaging tests such as CT scans or MRIs.
WATCH: Coping with advanced cancer that has spread to other parts of the body.
The most common bony area for cancer to spread to is the spine. When cancer spreads to the spine, it often causes back pain. This pain is also usually localized and may get worse with activity. Some people may describe this pain as a gnawing or dull pain that is always present. Other patients may have more serious symptoms, such as weakness in their legs and arms and changes in their sensations. Although the spine is the most common, cancer can also spread to other bones, such as the hips and shoulders.
Treatment for Bone Metastasis
Fortunately, there are many treatments for bone metastases. For people who are experiencing symptoms such as bone pain, your doctor may recommend radiation therapy. Radiation is extremely effective in treating pain and symptoms caused by bone metastases. Radiation is delivered non-invasively over one to ten days and targets the areas in the bone where the cancer cells are present. Most people will have significant pain relief with radiation, and some may have all of their pain go away after having radiation. By using radiation, many in treatment can avoid using strong pain medications that often cause fatigue and constipation.
Related: Radiation Simulation Preparing for Radiation Treatment
Radiation, when used to treat bone pain or other symptoms of cancer, is called palliative radiation therapy. Because it is given in gentle doses that help with symptoms, often there are very few side effects. Suppose you have bone metastasis that’s not causing you any symptoms. In that case, your doctor may take several approaches, including starting systemic therapy such as chemotherapy, immunotherapy, or targeted agents, or if you are already on one of these medications, your doctor may recommend switching to a new form of systemic therapy.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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