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

Tara’s Story

Ewing’s sarcoma at the clavicle
Age at Diagnosis: 30
Date of Diagnosis: November 20, 2006
Hospital: University of Mississippi Medical Center
Team: Dr. Darryl Hamilton and Dr. Scott E. Porter

Diagnosis: I had intermittent pain in my left clavicle beginning in July of 2003. Every three or so months, it would hurt for approximately two weeks. Aleve would always control the pain and it was never unbearable. In March of 2006, my 18-month-old son threw his head back and banged it into my clavicle. It was the most horrendous pain I ever had. Two weeks later, it felt back to normal, but there was a knot on my clavicle. A friend of mine, who is a nurse, looked at it and said it looked as if it had been fractured to her. So my best friend, who is an x-ray technician, took some x-rays. She thought it appeared “funny” – there were black spots all the way down my clavicle. It started a testing frenzy. I was scanned through every machine imaginable, blood & DNA tests were done, lastly a biopsy. It confirmed I did not have cancer, just fibrous tissue.

In July, the regular pain flared up again, and I wanted a true diagnosis. With all of my tests in hand, I was finally sent to an orthopedic oncologist who told me I was the most extensively tested case of either Paget’s Disease or Fibrous Dysplasia he had ever seen. No cause for alarm… Just wait and see over the next year. Read more

Marcy’s Story

Parosteal osteosarcoma at the distal femur
Age at Diagnosis: 37
Date of Diagnosis: August 2006
Location: Nebraska
Surgeon: Sean McGarry at UNMC

Diagnosis: I first saw my family physician in August feeling soreness around my right knee. He determined I had most likely torn a muscle running and said to take some Advil for a couple of weeks. I was never in a lot of pain, but my knee began to swell and I thought I had better take it seriously. I asked my Dr. to send me off for an MRI. Within a few days I was told they believed I had low grade osteosarcoma. I had never heard of bone cancer before. Read more

Maria’s Story

Chondrosarcoma at the pelvis
Age at Diagnosis: 38
Date of Diagnosis: 2007
Location: Saratoga Springs, New York
Hospital: Dana Farber Cancer Institute/Brigham & Women’s
Surgeon: Dr. John Abraham

Diagnosis: I pulled a groin muscle coming off my horse in the spring of 2007. After two months of physical therapy, it was not getting better. If I did any exercise above and beyond PT, it was difficult and painful to walk. I visited my local orthopedic surgeon and he took and x-ray of my pelvis. You could see a mass on the left superior ramus down the tubercle almost to the sits bone. After an MRI and fill body bone scan, I was referred to an orthopedic oncologist in Schenectady. He initially thought it was fibrous dysplasia, and wanted to do a bone graft and bone biopsy, to make sure it was not cancerous. The biopsy came back chondrosarcoma. Read more

Jeanna’s Story

Chondrosarcoma at the chest wall
Age at Diagnosis: 32
Date of Diagnosis: 2007
Hospital: University of California Irvine
Team: Dr. Huang and Dr. Abolhoda

Diagnosis: I innocently went to wipe something off my shirt one day when I felt a large lump on my chest. The doctors first suspected it to be in my breast. I went through a battery of imaging tests for about 10 months. My attempted lumpectomy turned exploratory and the tumor was found to be in between the 2nd and 3rd rib behind my right breast. It was diagnosed as a grade 2 chondrosarcoma of the chest wall.

Treatment: In August of 2007 I recieved treatment at the University of California Irvine. I had a wide en-bloc resection of the anterior chest wall with a partial mastectomy. The 2nd, 3rd, and part of the 4th rib were removed along with part of my sternum. Mesh, mortor, muscle flap and skin graft were used to correct the defect. I spent 3 days in ICU and 6 days total hospitalization. The doctors at this hospital were really great and did their very best to minimize the trauma. Read more

Kaye’s Story

Ewing’s sarcoma at the tibia
Age at Diagnosis: 32
Date of Diagnosis: December 2005
Location: San Antonio, Texas
Team: Drs. Drengler and Williams at the Cancer Therapy Research Center

Diagnosis: The first question everyone asks when I tell them that this is primarily a kids cancer is “How did you find out you have it?” I literally woke up one morning and fell out of bed. I went to bed, and the next morning tried to stand up, and fell. I went to my primary doc, and he told me that I sprained my calf. I refused to take that for an answer, and requested a sonogram for a blood clot. You know there is a major problem when the radiation tech gasps and then says hold on. That was October 28, 2005. After many sonograms, CT’s, MRI’s, and being sent to the wrong doctors, I finally received my biopsy in November (right after I turned 32). Two weeks after my biopsy, I had to call the doc to check up. He explained to me that it took so long for the results because they had to send them to a pediatric hospital for confirmation. I was at work when he told me, and I think I fainted. Not too sure. That was December 1 2005. Ewing’s sarcoma/PNET completely localized, no mets, about the size of a large egg in my calf. Read more

Kelly’s Story

Osteosarcoma at the tibia
Age at Diagnosis: 38
Date of Diagnosis: 2006
Location: USA
Hospital: University of Michigan
Team: Dr. Sybil Biermann, Dr. Scott Schuetze

Diagnosis: During October of 2006 my mother was dying of lung cancer. While caring for her, my knee started to ache. It wasn’t too painful, however I found myself taking Motrin to help with the pain. I attributed the pain to my trying to move my mother into different positions to make her more comfortable. I thought that maybe I had twisted my knee. There was no swelling, just a dull ache. Heat and cold did not seem to help. My mother died on October 18th and after her death the pain became worse. Read more

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