Hi doctor, I have my aunt aged 65 yrs suffering from pain on her neck. We had the doctor diagonize and found the 3rd bone on the neck has been affected by cancer and was decalared at 3rd stage. She is undergoing chemo for past 5 days...what does a 3rd stage mean? is there any special treatment she could recover from
Hi, Thanks for writing in. There are many types of bone cancer classified on the cell of origin and pattern of cancer. There are locally aggressive ones and ones that spread quickly and affect other organs. A stage 3 bone cancer means that the cancer is large and has spread locally. She requires aggressive chemotherapy to control the cancer and see if there is reduction in size and extent after giving few cycles of chemotherapy. Some bone cancers also respond to radiation therapy and this is given after chemotherapy. I am not certain if your aunt has a bone cancer that will respond to radiation therapy. Depending on the extent and response to treatment, survival varies. In stage 3 cancer people who respond to treatment might survive for more than 3 to 5 years however since a neck bone is involved in your aunt, the situation requires to be reviewed in detail. Please do not worry.