Dr. Eck received a Bachelor of Science degree from the Catholic University of America in Biomedical Engineering, followed by a Master of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering from Marquette University. Following this he worked as a research engineer conducting spine biomechanics research. He then attended medical school at University of Health Sciences. He is board eligible in orthopaedic surgery.
Melissa Conrad Stöppler, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Anatomic Pathologist with subspecialty training in the fields of Experimental and Molecular Pathology. Dr. Stöppler's educational background includes a BA with Highest Distinction from the University of Virginia and an MD from the University of North Carolina. She completed residency training in Anatomic Pathology at Georgetown University followed by subspecialty fellowship training in molecular diagnostics and experimental pathology.
Bone cancer is caused by a problem with the cells that make bone. More than 2,000 people are diagnosed in the United States each year with a bone tumor. Bone tumors occur most commonly in children and adolescents and are less common in older adults. Cancer involving the bone in older adults is most commonly the result of metastatic spread from another tumor.
There are many different types of bone cancer. The most common primary bone tumors include osteosarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma, chondrosarcoma, malignant fibrous histiocytoma, fibrosarcoma, and chordoma.
Osteosarcoma is the most common primary malignant bone cancer. It most commonly affects males between 10 and 25 years old but can less commonly affect older adults. It often occurs in the long bones of the arms and legs at areas of rapid growth around the knees and shoulders of children. This type of cancer is often very aggressive with risk of spread to the lungs. The five-year survival rate is about 65%.
Ewing's sarcoma is the most aggressive bone tumor and affects younger people between 4-15 years
of age. It is more common in males and is very rare in people over 30 years of
age. It most commonly occurs in the middle of the long bones of the arms and legs. The
three-year survival rate is about 65%, but this rate is much lower if there has been spread to the lungs or other tissues of the body.
Chondrosarcoma is the second most common bone tumor and accounts for about 25% of all malignant bone tumors. These tumors arise from the cartilage cells and can either be very aggressive or relatively slow growing. Unlike many other bone tumors, chondrosarcoma is most common in people over 40 years of
age. It is slightly more common in males and can potentially spread to the lungs and lymph nodes. Chondrosarcoma most commonly affects the bones of the pelvis and hips. The five-year survival for the aggressive form is about 30%, but the survival rate for slow-growing tumors is 90%.
Malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH) affects the soft tissues, including muscle, ligaments, tendons, and fat. It is the most common soft-tissue malignancy in later adult life, usually occurring in people 50-60 years
of age. It most commonly affects the extremities and is about twice as common in males as females. MFH also has a wide range of severity. The overall five-year survival rate is about 35%-60%.
Fibrosarcoma is much more rare than the other bone tumors. It is most common in people 35-55 years of
age. It most commonly affects the soft tissues of the leg behind the knee. It is slightly more common in males than females.
Chordoma is a very rare tumor with an average survival of about six years after diagnosis. It occurs in adults over 30 years
of age and is about twice as common in males as females. It most commonly affects either the lower or upper end of the spinal column.
In addition to bone cancer, there are various types of benign bone tumors. These include osteoid osteoma, osteoblastoma, osteochondroma, enchondroma, chondromyxoid fibroma, aneurysmal bone cyst, unicameral bone cyst, and giant cell tumor (which has the potential to become malignant). As with other types of benign tumors, these are not cancerous.
There are two other relatively common types of cancer than develop in the bones: lymphoma and multiple myeloma. Lymphoma, a cancer arising from the cells of the immune system, usually begins in the lymph nodes but can begin in the bone. Multiple myeloma begins in the bones, but it is not usually considered a bone tumor because it is a tumor of the bone marrow cells and not of the bone cells.
Night sweats are severe hot flashes that occur at night and result in a drenching sweat. In order to distinguish night sweats that arise from medical causes from those that occur because one's surroundings are too warm, doctors generally refer to true night sweats as severe hot flashes occurring at night that can drench sleepwear and sheets, which are not related to an overheated environment.
Nausea is an uneasiness of the stomach that often precedes vomiting. Nausea and vomiting are not diseases, but they are symptoms of many conditions. The causes of vomiting differ according to age, and treatment depends upon the cause of nausea and vomiting.
Elbow pain is most often the result of tendinitis, which can affect the inner or outer elbow. Treatment includes ice, rest, and medication for inflammation. Inflammation, redness, warmth, swelling, tenderness, and decreased range of motion are other symptoms associated with elbow pain. Treatment for elbow pain depends upon the nature of the patient's underlying disease or condition.
Although a fever technically is any body temperature above the normal of 98.6 degrees F. (37 degrees C.), in practice a person is usually not considered to have a significant fever until the temperature is above 100.4 degrees F (38 degrees C.). Fever is part of the body's own disease-fighting arsenal: rising body temperatures apparently are capable of killing off many disease- producing organisms.
There are many causes of scalp hair loss. This featured article covers the common ones such as patchy hair loss (alopecia areata, trichotillomania, and tinea capitis), telogen effluvium, and androgenetic alopecia (male-pattern baldness, female-pattern baldness).
Multiple myeloma is a form of cancer that develops in plasma cells, the white blood cells that make antibodies. Symptoms include bone pain, weakness, extreme thirst, nausea, frequent urination, and broken bones. Treatment of multiple myeloma depends upon the staging and symptoms of the disease.
Cancer is a disease caused by an abnormal growth of cells, also called malignancy. It is a group of 100 different diseases, and is not contagious. Cancer can be treated through chemotherapy, a treatment of drugs that destroy cancer cells.
Fractures occur when bone cannot withstand the outside forces applied to the bone. Fractures can be open or closed. Types of fractures include: greenstick, spiral, comminuted, transverse, compound, or vertebral compression. Common fractures include: stress fracture, compression fracture, rib fracture, and skull fracture. Treatment depends upon the type of fracture.
Smoking is an addiction. More than 430,000 deaths occur each year in the U.S. from smoking related illnesses. Secondhand smoke or "passive smoke" also harm family members, coworkers, and others around smokers. There are a number of techniques available to assist people who want to quit smoking.
Though it's difficult to say why some people develop cancer while others don't, research shows that certain risk factors increase a person's odds of developing cancer. These risk factors include growing older, family history of cancer, diet, alcohol and tobacco use, and exposure to sunlight, ionizing radiation, certain chemicals, and some viruses and bacteria.
Most often, caregivers take care of other adults who are ill or disabled. Less often, caregivers are grandparents raising their grandchildren. The majority of caregivers are middle-aged women. Caregiving can be very stressful, so it's important to recognize when it's putting to much strain on you and to take steps to prevent/relieve stress.
Rothmund-Thomson syndrome is a rare genetic. The signs and symptoms of Rothmund-Thomson syndrome include a redness on the cheeks (developed between the ages of 3 and 6 months); poikiloderma; sparse hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes; slow growth, teeth and nail abnormalities, infancy gastrointestinal problems, cataracts, skeletal abnormalities, bone and skin cancer. Mutations of the RECQL4 gene causes about two-thirds of the cases of Rothmund-Thomson syndrome. This syndrome is an inherited autosomal recessive pattern genetic mutation. Other names for Rothmund-Thomson syndrome include: congenital poikiloderma, poikiloderma atrophicans and cataract, poikiloderma congenitale, poikiloderma congenitale of Rothmund-Thomson, and RTS.
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