Peggy’s Story

I had been in pain all year. The pain sharply accelerated during August. Two different sports orthopedians diagnosed me with a likely torn meniscus. I had assumed my arthritis was getting worse. I had been trying to stabilize my knee with grocery store knee braces.

I was very active, running agility in classes and herding sheep in class and trial competion with my dogs. I loved to be outside in the garden and doing team activities with my dogs.

August 21 while rising from a sitting position I felt a pop in my hip. Combined with the ever increasing pain, foggy thinking and fatigue, I was frightened. We hurried to the ER. The triage nurse said my blood pressure was off the chart (sign of pain) and hurried me to the front of the line. The ER doctor ordered a CT scan. He explained he could see fractures more easily than in the set of x-rays I brought with me. Read more

Keith’s Story

Low-grade osteosarcoma at the proximal femur
Age at Diagnosis: 47
Date of Diagnosis: 2003
Location: Colorado
Hospital: Presbyterian St. Luke’s, Denver
Team: Dr. Richard Hesky and Dr. Ross Wilkins

Diagnosis: I went to my GP in late 2002 with chronic pain in my right hip. An x-ray indicated a change in bone density. MRI and subsequent exams pointed to a bone tumor. Biopsy confirmed that it was osteosarcoma.

Treatment: I had a radical femoral resection with hip replacement and no chemotherapy. My experience was positive and uneventful, under the circumstances. Read more

Brian’s Story

Periosteal osteosarcoma at the proximal femur with recurrence and lung mets
Date of Diagnosis: February 2004
Age at Diagnosis: 24
Location: Illinois

Diagnosis: I began having shooting pains in the fall of 2002 in my right femur while I was attending college full-time at the University of Kansas. I was an active 22 year old at the time and had no reason to suspect that there was anything wrong. I loved to run, was always pretty active and never felt any physical limitations growing up as a kid.

After steady pain, I decided to make a visit to my general physician and see if he could provide any insight into the pain. He said he thought that I might have a “baker’s cist” behind the knee and an MRI would tell us if that was the case. Read more

Aaron’s Story

Chondrosarcoma at the proximal femur
Age at Diagnosis: 20
Date of Diagnosis: 1990
Location: Idaho

Diagnosis: I was 19 years old when I was playing soccer. I was running down the field and I heard a snap and then sharp pain coming from my second toe on my right foot. My toe just broke!

I went to a doctor who did an x-ray and said that something was wrong with my bone, it was as thin as an egg shell. He sent me to a specialist who had me go through a bone scan. There they found a sizable tumor in my right proximal femur.

Treatment: I went to surgery in September of 1990 where they removed the bone in my toe and replaced it with a cadaver bone. They curretaged my femur and sent me on to PT. My diagnosis was Encondroma. A benign cartilaginous tumor. Read more

Kent’s Story

Clear Cell Chondrosarcoma at the Proximal Femur
Age at Diagnosis: 40
Year of Diagnosis: 2004

Diagnosis: My ‘experience’ started over five years ago, I was extremely active in most sports including running, skiing, hiking and baseball. I first noticed my symptoms as pulled groin muscles that, when I checked with a doctor was told to rest for a couple weeks and slowly work up to your normal activities. I found that the occurrences became more aggressive and I would give the injury more time to heal and be less aggressive at my therapy. In July of 2004 the pain and frequency of my muscle pulls was keeping me from sleeping and I noticed deep muscle and tissue aches. I had stopped running for about a year and my exercise had become minimal for about a year. I’d visited a doctor several times, but now as I look back I didn’t let the doctor diagnose my injury I told him that I knew it was muscle pulls or tares. Finally it got to a point that I could only walk with a more than slight limp and went in for X-Rays. At the time I had switched jobs and was working as a contractor without insurance. After the first x-ray the doctor came in and told me I had a crack in my femoral neck, but that isn’t what I should be concerned with. Read more

Jean’s Story

Chondrosarcoma at the proximal femur
Age at Diagnosis: 17
Date of Diagnosis: December 1971
Hospital: Memorial Sloan-Kettering in New York City

Diagnosis: I first had complaints of bone pain at around age 13. I was examined by an orthopedist and various possible causes (including one leg being longer than the other or “growing pains” from a rapid growth spurt) were eliminated – though no definitive diagnosis was made. A fluke accident 4 years later led me to the emergency room for a hip x-ray. At that time something thought to be a bone cyst was revealed. This was in July/August 1971. Read more

Celeste’s Story

Chondrosarcoma at the Proximal Femur
Age at Diagnosis: 48
Year of Diagnosis: 2003
Location: New Hampshire

Diagnosis: I first saw a doctor in February of 2003 at the age of 48. I had pain in my right femur and went to my local orthopedist. He took an x-ray and found a tumor in my right femur. He suggested I go to Boston Mass General, and I went there in May of 2003 and saw Dr. Hornicek (wonderful doctor). He did a biopsy of the tumor, and it was chrondrosarcoma.

Treatment: I was diagnosed in of May 2003 had surgery about three weeks later. I had a bone allograph (bone transplant). Click here to see my leg x-rays. I was in Mass General for 4 1/2 days then I went to my local rehab hospital. I spent 3 1/2 weeks in rehab and did not have radiation or chemotherapy. Read more

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