Crystal’s Story

Chondrosarcoma at the radius
Date of Diagnosis: January 2009
Age at diagnosis: 34

Diagnosis & Treatment: I am an LPN working in a nursing home. In December 2008 I started pushing my med cart and noticed sharp pains in my arm. I knew that this was not normal so I went to the ER when I got off work. The ER doctor repeatedly asked me if I had fallen, twisted, or injured my arm. I kept telling him that I had not. He would not x-ray my arm at this time. He told me that is was a sprain and gave me Ultram and a splint to wear for 3 days. Before the 3 days were up my arm had started hurting worse and Ultram was doing absolutely nothing for the pain. Read more

Ronette’s Story

Ewing’s sarcoma at the radius
Age at Diagnosis: 26
Date of Diagnosis: 2007
Location: Indiana
Hospital: Indiana University Medical Center
Team: Dr. Daniel Rushing, Dr. L. Daniel Wurtz

Diagnosis: I first saw an orthopedist in October 2003 after bumping my arm on a door frame. I noticed the next day there was some swelling and a lot of pain. After an x-ray, there was some sort of tumor in my distal radius (right above the wrist on the right arm) and was scheduled for a biopsy. That biopsy came back as necrotic marrow, negative for malignancy. Little did I know that three years later the biopsy was not done correctly and they only scratched the surface.

Well, in the summer of 2007, my arm looked like someone had slid an egg under my skin, and trying to squeeze things became almost impossible. After seeing the doctor I work for, he ordered an x-ray and it looked like someone had taken a bite out of bone. Part of the bone was more than half gone. After gathering my medical records and sending them to an orthopedist in South Bend, it was determined that I needed to see an orthopedic oncologist at IU Med Center. He saw me, told me that he suspected it was cancer, but hoping for a slow one since it had been there for three years. Read more

Allan’s Story

Osteosarcoma at the Distal Radius
Age at Diagnosis: 23
Year of Diagnosis: 1976
Location: Canada

Diagnosis: I first went to my family doctor in August of 1976. At that time I thought I had broken the arm. The doctor took one look at the x-ray and sent me to the cancer clinic. I was at the clinic on a Monday and had my first operation of many that Friday. At the time thought it was no big deal. Let’s just get on with curing it. Read more