Sami’s Story

Sami passed away on September 15, 2008. This is his story as he wrote it in 2006.

Sami’s Story
Osteosarcoma at the distal femur with lung mets
Age at Diagnosis: 21
Date of Diagnosis: 1995

Diagnosis: It started with a little swelling in my lower leg which I disregarded thinking I bumped my leg somewhere. Some time passed by and it didn’t go away, so finally went to the local hospital. The doctor thought it was swelling and gave me some meds for the infection. The condition persisted and I went to see another doctor. He took an x-ray, and with one look he told me it was osteosarcoma and referred me to the only local hospital in the country that deals with cancer.

Lucky for me all my cousins are doctors at this hospital, and my case was given first priority. I was told that the cancer is at the last stage but luckily it is contained in the femur and has not spread elsewhere in my body, they told me the best thing to do here was amputate my leg above my knee.

Treatment and Recovery: I did the normal MRI’s, bone scans, X-rays, blood work, etc., and went in for the amputation. Recovering was tough as in my country; there was no professional to turn to for guidance, no dietician to tell me what to eat or what to expect.

After the operation I was was made an artificial leg (a very basic one) to learn how to walk and use it on my own. I am still figuring it out today. I was also given adjuvant chemo, 6 doses for six months. Adriamycin is one I remember now. I had the toughest time with no one to turn too in any way. As a result, I have permanent damage in my stomach, and my hair never grew back properly.

I have had bi-yearly x-rays of my chest since then for 10 years, which ended in July 2004. I was all clear and was let go from the hospital as cured.

I married in 2002 and have a good life. My partner fully understands my condition, and since then we have helped ourselves, mostly with information from the internet. I am looking forward to getting a much better artificial leg from a nearby country.

Recurrence: My last x-ray was July 2004, as mentioned before. However, for my own peace of mind I decided to follow with a private clinic and went for a regular checkup in March 2005. It was back – a perfectly rounded sarcoma in my lung just near my heart, measuring 5×4x4cm.

We were crushed; however, we didn’t waste time and found a great doctor in my country who was visiting (our angel). I had an operation again. Half of the lobe of my lung was removed, It was a very painful recovery, but this time I have help: a great doctor, great wife and more knowledge. I am doing ok now and waiting to go for chemo in a couple of days, 3 doses.

Thoughts and hints for new patients: Hang in there; that’s the best thing you can do for yourself.

The rest of Sami’s story (shared by his wife): Sami had his chemo and was ok till Oct 2007, when we went to see a doctor for a regular flu he suggested an X-ray and there it was. He was quite heart broken after he found the results of all the scans and tests, he was at Stage IV. I remember him telling me that night that he knows this time he wouldn’t survive. We had to travel outside our country as no one here knew how to care for him.

We lived in Istanbul from Nov 2007- September 2008, where Sami recieved Various Chemo, radiation and cyberknife surgery. In June 2006, after his Cyberknife surgery and successful rounds of chemo we were told that Sami was responding very well, they had got most of the cancer! We had to wait another 3 months for scans to see the results of the Cyberknife. During this time Sami was not able to continue his chemo because of very low blood counts. We spent this time in and out of the hospital, but Sami was the happiest during this time.

The doctors gave him an early scan due to a cough he had developed, which showed the cancer was back in his lungs, and more scans showed that it had spread to his kidneys, more bones and to the heart too. A bone marrow biopsy was taken and it was invaded too. The doctors asked me to come and see them, and the walk to their office was the most difficult ever, I was told Sami had at most 2 weeks to live, there was another chemo they could try but the results will be less than 15%, Sami the brave fighter he was took the news in more bravely than me, he said what he always did “Alhamedullah and Allah Kareem” which means ” God is great and merciful and I am thankfull to Him in any condition”.

Sami decided to take the chemo but we also decided to go back home and do it, we came back home on September 1, 2008, which was the first day of Ramadhan (the holiest fasting month for us Muslims). He was a little sad that he couldn’t fast this year. At home we were surrounded by family, he was happiest beyond words to see his new born niece; he called her “Angel.” His favourite cousins came over to see him and he at a blast with all of them. God was very merciful to him, till the day he died he never was in pain, when doctors asked him if he needed pain meds, he used to say, “for what i don’t feel any pain.”

Sami was not able to breathe on his own anymore and needed oxygen at all times, we were transferred to our local hospital. He insisted on taking the chemo saying he will fight till the end, his chemo started on 11 September, his condition was declining. 12 September we celebrated his birthday in the hospital, he was in and out of consciousness now, but was happy blowing out his candles. On 13th September he woke me early in the morning at about 4:00 am and said to be “Sweetheart, enough! No more” and kept repeating that, I couldn’t understand at that moment what he meant, as he used to often say ‘Sweetheart enough!’ to me when I tried to make him eat. From that morning onward he wanted me really close to him, holding his hand all the time, he wouldn’t let me out of his sight, I had to actually sneak to the bathroom really quickly when he slept.