Treatment Types

The goal of treatment for bone metastases is to control pain and other symptoms and to improve your quality of life. In some cases, these treatments can also help you live longer with your cancer.

• Your doctor may prescribe medicines called bisphosphonates. These drugs slow the bone loss caused by cancer to reduce the risk of bone fracture and pain.
• Your doctors may also prescribe chemotherapy or endocrine therapy. This is a term that refers to several different medications that kill cancer cells or stops them from growing. These types of treatment can be given when you are first diagnosed with cancer and also if cancer spreads to another part of the body. Talk with your medical oncologist (chemotherapy doctor) about these types of treatments.
• In most cases, treatment for bone metastases will not “cure” your cancer. However, modern treatments allow doctors to control the bone metastases, allowing many patients to improve their quality of life and to live months or years longer.