I never had any pain or discomfort. One morning as I was taking a shower I felt a knot on my back.  I immediately called my family doctor and he suggested I have a CAT scan. That afternoon, I was told that there was a tumor on my 9th rib. At first the doctors here thought it was benign after needle biopsies. Then, during an aborted surgery, the surgeon knew it was something much different, took a larger biopsy, sent it to Mayo, and closed me back up.

Mayo returned the verdict, osteosarcoma, and within two weeks I was on my way to M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, where Dr. Wayne L. Hofstetter, a wonderful thoracic surgeon, removed the tumor and two ribs (8th and 9th) on the left side of my body. Dr. Raymond, a pathologist at M. D. Anderson upon receiving Mayo’s diagnosis, questioned if the tumor might not be a periosteal osteosarcoma as a result of the grade. He was correct. Once removed it was determined that it was periosteal osteosarcoma and it had invaded the bone marrow for 7mm.

As a result of the bone marrow invasion I took a tough regiment of chemo at M. D. Anderson Cancer Center during 2005. While Houston did not have any bad weather from Hurrican Katrina, I was evacuated during Hurrican Rita.

Since my diagnosis, the osteosarcoma has returned twice, once as a lesion on the back of scalp (removed in April of 2006) and once in the middle lobe of my right lung (removed in May of 2008). I have returned to M. D. Anderson every three months since 2005. My sarcoma doctor is Dr. Shreyaskumar Patel. In February of 2009, he agreed to allow my local oncologist, Dr. Christopher Croot, to order scans here in Mississippi every other three months. This saves me both time and money as I will only be going to Houston every six months. I have been blessed, as my scans since May of 2008 have been clear.

Up until all of this has happened to me, I had never had any type of major surgery. I have been blessed with rather speedy recoveries from my surgeries. I have never had any major pain but I don’t think that I was mentally or physically prepared for the chemo regiment that I had in 2005…no pain but tired and sick at my stomach all the time.

Through all of this, my Christian faith and the support and care of family and friends have carried me thus far in my struggle with periosteal osteosarcoma.

Periosteal Osteosarcoma at the Rib
Date of Diagnosis: April 2005
Age at diagnosis: 47
Location: Mississippi, United States
Hospital: M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, Texas

Diagnosis: I was having stomach pain and went in for a CT scan to rule out appendicitis. While that was clean, they mentioned that there was a three inch mass that appeared to be in my lung. My doctor tells me that I’m her only sarcoma patient to not have any symptoms. At first, the doctors didn’t know what to make of my tumor. It seemed to be in the space between my lung and ribs on my left side. We went from doctor to doctor until we arrived at the professor of surgery at UNC. He said he didn’t think it was anything bad, but decided to take it out just to be sure. After opening me up, they saw that it wasn’t anything good and took out my eighth, ninth, and tenth rib, and the nerve that runs along there.

Treatment: After the chest wall resection, my next surgery was a port placement. They started me on chemo three weeks after surgery. A five day treatment of Ifex and Etoposide and a two day treatment of adriamiacin, cytoxan, and vincristine every two weeks for a total of fourteen treatments, seven of each. I am currently receiving treatment and am halfway through. I get a transfusion almost every treatment– I just got number six yesterday. The doctor has had to cut my chemo by 20 percent to try and keep me on schedule. I get Neupogen shots for wbc and a booster for rbc. Masks in public– I have some that have nice mustaches drawn on them.

Recovery in between sessions isn’t much fun, but I’m making it. The first three days are somewhat hellish, but after those I feel pretty normal. My current problem resides in low platelets, which keeps delaying treatments.

Right now, I just go from treatment to treatment. I’ve started baking to allay the boredom in between treatments. Friends visit occasionally. Most are in college, which is where I should be. I’m going back in the fall whether or not I’m done with chemo. My ribs hurt. I haven’t sneezed since the surgery, can’t do a full yawn or take a sharp breath. I also haven’t hiccupped, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I’ve had to change sleeping positions, too. My heart isn’t liking the chemo too much and reminds me of that occasionally. Overall, it’s not as bad as I thought it would be. However, that doesn’t make it good. Oh! I kinda miss having hair.

Thoughts and Hints for Patients: Be patient. It’s hard, I know, but take your time with everything. After all, there’s not a whole lot for you to do anyway. Let your doctor know about any problems from the chemo. There’s nothing they haven’t heard, and most of the time they can help. Don’t be scared. Cancer is scary, sure, but don’t be afraid of it. Try writing letters to it. I like to tell mine how much it sucks every once in a while. Don’t be afraid to use the C-Card when necessary. Having cancer sucks. Use it to your advantage. Finally, stop making plans for a while. Just sit back for a while. You deserve a break, anyway.

Diagnosis: I was just 13 years of age when some medical problems started to arise. I had a bad cough, shortness of breath, pain and a lump in my right 6th rib. But I just thought it was something that would go away. Things started to get worst and my parents took me to the hospital, they decided to take an MRI, Radiography, CAT scan etc. They saw a tumor on my 6th rib; they rushed me to the operating room and got the lump removed, and it turn out it was cancer. My parents brought me to the U.S to seek medical treatment, where they confirmed the diagnosis: Ewing’s sarcoma. They started the treatment right away; I had lots of side effects and my hair fell. Thanks to God it’s been 6 years since I’ve been free of the malignancy. It was a very difficult time for me and my family, not just because I had cancer, also because we were in another country totally different from ours.

Treatment: I had my 6th rib removed totally, and I also had surgery for the implantation of the port. I had one year of chemotherapy (vincristine,doxurubicin,vp16). Thanks to God I never received a transfusion. I also received radiation therapy (37 sessions).

Recovery: I had a great recovery, and I feel great. Sometimes due to my surgery of the rib I feel pain in the area.

Life now: Now I am living my life to praise God. Every day I give thanks to him for saving me from this disease. I got married just a month ago and I am living a very happy life. I graduated in clinical psychology, but I discovered that my passion is to help others. That’s why now I am studying to be a Register Nurse.

Thoughts and Hints for New Patients: All your fears and anxiety – put it in God’s hand. Always think positive. This experience of having cancer made me see life in a more mature way. Something very important is nutrition during your treatment. That helped me through my treatment. I eliminated all junk food from my diet and ate vegetables and lots of fruits. I hope this help. God Bless You All.

Diagnosis: I broke my arm due to a calcium cyst in 1985. At the start of 1986, I was having back pains. As the pain increased I started running a fever at the same time I had the pain. My mother was a nurse, so she instantly took me to a doctor when she found out. The doctors told her it was getting used to using my arm, however luckily for me my mother did not believe them and insisted they test more then just x-rays. When a bone scan was done, “hot spots” were found on my ribs on the left side of my back where the pain was. This was all happening to me the month before my 13th birthday. I don’t remember anyone ever mentioning the word “cancer” to me, but that is what it turned out to be, Ewing’s Sarcoma.

Treatment: I had surgery at the local hospital in the beginning of March in ‘86 to remove parts of 3 ribs from my back. This meant cutting the nerves and muscles by the shoulder blade on the left side. [I am left handed.] After the surgery my case was taken to a meeting of doctors at Syracuse University. Again luckily for me, my great uncle is a retired doctor and was able to go and sit in on the meeting. It was decided that it was cancer and that I should go to a cancer hospital and receive what treatment they deemed appropriate. March 26th, 1986, I received my first treatment of chemotherapy. Two of the chemotherapies I received were Vincristine and Adrimycin. I did 18 months of chemo and about 6 weeks of external radiation and an internal shot of radiation. My hospital, Roswell Park Memorial Institute, was wonderful and so were all the people I dealt with from the floor, the clinic, and the house were I stayed (Kevin House) when I had to get radiation everyday. I still keep in touch with some of the wonderful people there on a personal basis. The shot was given to me at Dana Farber in Boston. I even have pictures from my visits at Roswell and remember the people fondly, right down to my vampires, as I called my hematologists.

Recovery: My last treatment was October of 1987. I even had a party at home that some people from Roswell came to be at. Unfortunately I was still recovering from the last chemo. I am now 32 years old and have been lucky enough to not have any recurrences of any cancer. I have been clean on every check up. Since I have moved to different states I have had different doctors, but they all have kept my original doctor up to date on how I am doing and what is happening to me. I have even learned that I had one of the TOP docs to give me my treatments, something I didn’t know and now feel more pride and respect for him, Doctor Daniel Green. Due to my treatments and surgery, my left lung is 2/3 dead and my left back side is numb. However I am slowly over the years regaining feeling in my back. I do also have to be careful with my arm due to my muscles are a bit weak and sometimes are not able to hold my shoulder blade into place. Exercises help with that however. Finally, just in the last couple of years, a side effect of the chemo has been found. I now have cardiomyopathy, slight damage to my heart. One section of my heart does not compress as strongly as it should. I am taking a blood pressure medicine (Lisinopril) everyday now for it to help keep it from getting worse and in hope that some damage can be repaired. I try to keep positive and my family and friends over the many years help a great deal and the whole situation has given me my own belief in God and the effect of God in my life. Sometimes it is hard, but with other survivors I hope to meet and hear from, I hope that will make it even better.

Life now: Like I mentioned I have been clean from any cancer since my treatments. Had a few scares over the years though. I have been at the same company for 8 years working different jobs. It surprises people when they find out about my cancer and my surgery. When I change stores, a department store, I always have to let management know about my health problems in case I have problems breathing or if I am unable to do a job task. They have always been great about understanding and 99.8% of the time my health does not effect what I do at work. I don’t have my own family yet because I just can’t find Mr. Right for me. I have dated and never had problems with their understanding about my condition. Now if I can only find the right guy for me. *grin* Over the years I have learned what my limits are and go by them. Sometimes I push it a bit further just to see. Over all I am the same as everyone else. Second head of hair going through my childhood I missed, still a big kid at heart, with a loud mouth known for talking someone’s ear off. No one ever believes for a few minutes that I had cancer. They are even more stunned when I show off my scar and tell them what all was done. I am proud of my scar and always have been, from the top of my neck down my back and around on my side under my arm. That scar is my badge of honor and strength. Someone even described me using the word “courage.” I have yet to figure that one out. I just dealt with what came day by day. What else could I do? I have met, so far, one other Ewing’s survivor: the country singer Kevin Sharp. He signed his autograph for my and gave me a hug when I told him what we had in common. He was really wonderful, and even today I tear up when I think about it. Meeting him, another Ewing’s survivor, means the world to me beyond measure. I look forward to meeting many more.

Thoughts and hints for new patients: Ask questions when you don’t understand something. Don’t be afraid to speak up if something feels wrong to you. Admit to being scared so someone can help you. Be glad you are alive and fighting; I have met many who have not survived. Be thankful for every win of the fight against your cancer. Be thankful for all your friends and family and all the little things they do to help you, from getting you something to eat to reading you a book or just holding your head when you had treatment and are now throwing up. Read about other people who have had cancer and their experiences, and if you are lucky share with them and take back what they share with you. Learn what you believe in deep in your own heart, and hold on to that faith tightly so no one can take it away. It will give you the strength to get by one more day everyday. Try to find something to smile, laugh, and think good thoughts about. Maybe write down how you feel so later you can look back at it and learn about yourself.

One final thing. The Cancer Society passed out a book back when I was having treatments. I have read and reread it many times. It means a lot to me, especially one certain part I would like to share with you.

“Another incident of friendship involved a young camp counselor who found herself in the woods with two very small, very homesick boys who missed their mothers and were afraid of night noises. She suggested they both crawl in her sleeping bag where she hugged them and alleviated their fears. Toward morning the bag started to feel warm and very wet. Her reaction? “Isn’t this great! They feel so at ease and safe with me that one of the boys didn’t bother to get up and go potty.” – Erma Bombeck, I Want to Grow Hair, I Want to Grow UP, I Want to Go to Boise,” page 82.

To me this is amusing and it is just one small amusement in the book. I recommend this book to everyone, but us cancer survivors or anyone dealing with cancer will truly understand it. I hope this gives others as much laughter as I get from it still today.

Diagnosis, Treatment and Metastases: In 2004 I was diagnosed with a chondrosarcoma on my rib cage that went from the size of a prune to a grapefruit in 6 weeks. They removed the left side of my rib cage and replaced it with a plastic like rib cage. Last year, in November of 2005, I found another 2 chondrosarcomas on my knee and ankle. Due to this I lost my leg and have now had to learn how to walk again. Since then I recently have just had another chondrosarcoma where it originally occurred on my plastic rib cage.

My doctor, Professor Choong, has been wonderful each time and extremely positive for me and my family.

Life Now: Life I take every day as it comes, and appreciate each breath of air I take. My life certainly has slowed down since I have had these chondrosarcomas, as I use to be a builder. But chondrosarcoma has not stopped me from getting outdoors and giving things a go.

Thoughts and hints for new patients: This can be a very aggressive tumour, and I tell anyone out there to stay positive and keep focused. It is the one way to get through fighting any type of tumour. I sure would love to hear from other people who have been through similar experiences to me.

Life is too short, be extremely positive. Just keep checking your own body for any bump or hump. As my doctor always has said to me, any bump, hump or lump that shouldn’t be there: get rid of. Good luck.