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Bone cancer is a rare type of cancer - it affects just over 500 people every year.

Most cases of bone cancer develop in the long bones of the legs or upper arms.

The most common symptoms of the disease is a persistent pain which gets worse over time, and like arthritis can get worse at night.

NHS Choices said: The pain can sometimes be wrongly mistaken for arthritis in adults and growing pains in children and teenagers.

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We know that too often people ignore pain or swelling in their joints.

Alan Silman

Other symptoms of bone cancer can include swelling and redness over a bone which can make movement challenging.

This could also be mistaken for gout, an uncomfortable, inflammatory condition that occurs when needle-like crystals of uric acid form within certain joints or soft tissues.

Gout - which is a form of arthritis - can be associated with a rich diet which can be altered to avoid the condition.

Other symptoms of bones cancer include a lump over a bone, or a weak bone which fracture more easily than normal.

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We know that too often people ignore pain or swelling in their joints.

Alan Silman

This could be mistaken for osteoporosis - a condition which weakens bones and makes them more fragile and likely to break,

The condition affects more than three million people in the UK.

There are three main types of bone cancer including osteosarcoma which most commonly affect children and young adults under 20 and Ewing sarcoma and chondrosarcoma.

The Bone Cancer Research Trust (BCRT) has previously called for faster x-ray referrals for children or young adults who visit their doctor with painful bones or swollen joints, after a report by the National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN) revealed that survival rates for primary bone cancer have remained unchanged.

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Experts have said X-rays can have a huge impact on sufferers chances of survival, adding that there is a need to improve GPs awareness of primary bones cancer.

Professor Alan Silman, former medical director of Arthritis Research UK has previously spoken out about the symptoms of bone cancer.

"We know that too often people ignore pain or swelling in their joints.

"Often these symptoms are the early signs of rheumatoid and osteoarthritis.

"Very rarely a localised pain and swelling without any other obvious cause can be warning signs of bone cancer."

Macmillan Cancer Support said another signs of the disease could be difficulty moving a joint.

It said: If the cancer is near a joint, this can make it more difficult to move the joint.

It can affect the movement of the whole limb. If the affected bone is in the leg, it may cause a limp. If the tumour is in the spine, it may press on nerves, causing weakness or numbness and tingling in the limbs.

See the original post here:
Pain in YOUR bones? Don't mistake cancer symptoms for common arthritis or gout - Express.co.uk

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