Radionuclide Therapy in Palliation of Bony Metastases

Therapeutic Approaches to Palliation of Bone Pain

Epidemiology: Bony Metastases in Breast and Prostate Cancer

  Prostate cancer:  50% of patients have bone disease at time of diagnosis

Breast cancer:  15% of stage III patients and 50% of Stage IV patients have bone metastases at time of diagnosis

Advances in Cancer Therapy have resulted in more people needing treatment:

§        Longer survival in many cancers

§        Better pain control medication

§        More aggressive radiotherapy

§        End result: More people living with bone pain.

Some Effects of Bone Pain

§        Depression

§        Loss of mobility

§        Disrupted family patterns

§        Decreased quality of life