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Maryville, Tennessee
Sarcoma has brought me to the real me – not the one that I show people, but the one that is deep inside. I took my recovery time to not only heal physically, but God healed me emotionally, and my spiritual walk has become stronger. Sarcoma brought me to love myself.
Wellington, New Zealand
When Sarcoma comes into your life it is an all encompassing, life changing event. Laughter is hard to find. During that time our family developed a very dark sense of humour. With my 19-year-old son’s permission, here is an entry from his blog that really tickled us. He had just finished 2 cycles of chemo and was getting a break waiting for his blood counts to come up so he could have surgery. Prior to his diagnosis, he was working part time as a pool lifeguard so he knew the regulars at the pool quite well.
“I felt pretty good and incredibly bored with just sitting at home, so begged to go to work to help out at a pool party for teenagers. One of the annoying little kids that used to hang around the pool every day after school (I had evicted him from the pool 3 times previously), was at the party, saw my bald head and was a bit curious, this is how the conversation went….. (“K” for the kid, “S” for me)
K: Bro, you’ve gone skinhead.
S: Don’t call me a skinhead man or you’ll be out again.
K: How’d you do it? It’s cool.
S: It’s not by choice.
K: Did you lose a bet?
S: [pause] Yes, I lost a bet with God. (Sarcasm dripping from my every word)
K: (puzzled look) Huh?
S: Don’t worry.
K: How’d you do it?
S: Drugs.
K: Cool (most impressed). What type of drugs? Weed?
S: No.
K: Cocaine (his mouth wide open)?
S: No.
K: P? (really getting into the conversation now)
S: No, Cisplatin.
K: Woah man! Is that like, harder than P?
S: (Disbelieving look).. It’s chemotherapy!
K: So it’s harder than P?
S: It’s cancer.
K: Oh (looking really disappointed and not impressed at all!)
Idaho
My son was diagnosed with osteosarcoma on September 11, 2008, not the best day in general to be told devastating news. He’s 13 years old, just starting out in his life. His tumor was right below the knee in his tibia; we went from having a normal everyday teenager to a child with cancer. When we heard the news from our primary doctor, as he blurted it out to us while standing in his office, my first reaction was, “It has to be wrong, let’s take another.” My son’s first reaction was to put his arm around me and say, “It’s going to be okay, Mom.” Here we are standing in the doctor’s office right after being given devastating news, and my son is comforting me. Where do they get the strength? It’s only been five months and he has continued to have that strength and courage that he had from day one.
On January 22nd 2009, my son had a through-knee amputation. This was his choice. He said from the beginning, “If they have to take my leg to get the cancer, so be it,” and that is what happened. He was not willing to give the cancer a chance to spread; he didn’t want to endure any other procedures for surgery, revisions, or leg lengthening. It’s now been a little over a month and he is doing great. He’s thinking about his future, what he wants to do and see. We continue to encourage this attitude and continue to support all his decisions; it is his life, after all. As we go through this roller coaster in Cancer Land, we have been reminded how precious life truly is and are very thankful for all we have. And we continue to look towards the future.
Severna Park, Maryland
I am 11 years old. When I first found out that I had osteosarcoma, I was very confused, scared, and upset. I had heard so many scary stories about people with cancer. Now that I have been through chemo, I feel more positive. Some people worry about scars from surgeries, but I consider them badges of honor. Having cancer isn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I want to live.
Tianjin, China
I am Dr. Wang from the Tianjin Cancer Hospital in China. I have a patient with osteosarcoma, and I would like to write something about him. He is a lovely and clever boy. He is a 15-year old middle school student. Just before his birthday last year, he suffered discontinuous pain in his left knee. Because he did not want to delay his lessons, he did not tell his parents and did not go to hospital for further diagnosis. Two weeks later, the pain became continuous and a mass could be observed in the left thigh. Then he came to our hospital for treatment. After careful investigations and biopsy, he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in the left femur.
The chemotherapy he received before his surgery was so terrible that the little boy could scarcely stand it. The response was not good and he had to suffer the amputation of his leg. It is a hard decision for everyone. To my surprise, the boy did not appear to have any sadness. He even consoled his parents. After the operation and the post-surgery chemotherapy, he was back to school and still worked hard at his studies. Before he left the hospital, he told me his dream is to become a doctor because during the treatment he saw that so many sarcoma patients lost their lives, and he would like to help them. The story of this lovely boy gives me more encouragement to work hard to fight sarcoma.
Dr. Wang’s moment in Chinese
我是中国天津市肿瘤医院的王医生。 我有一个骨肉瘤的患者，他面对肉瘤时的坚强，值得我为他写下一笔。他是一个15岁的可爱又聪明的孩子，正在上中学。就在他15岁生日前，他感觉到左膝部间断性疼痛。因为不愿意耽误自己的学习，他没有把这些情况告诉自己的父母，也没有到医院进行进一步的诊治。2周后，左膝部疼痛持续加重且发现左大腿下端出现肿物，只好来到我所在的医院。经过详细的检查及活检，他最终被诊断为左股骨下端骨肉瘤。术前化疗非常的痛苦，但是不幸的是，化疗效果很差，孩子不得不接受截肢治疗。对所有的人来说，这是一个艰难而且痛苦的选择。令我吃惊的是，这个孩子没有表现出过多的忧伤和悲哀，还安慰自己的父母。截肢手术后是更为残酷的化疗，他都坚持下来了。目前他已经结束临床治疗，返回学校参加正常的学习了。在离开医院前，他告诉我他的理想，是做个医生，来帮助那些和自己一样的孩子，让他们从肉瘤的灾难中解脱出来。这个孩子的事迹更鼓励我投入更大的精力到肉瘤的诊治中，也鼓励大家一起共同努力，为战胜肉瘤而奋斗！
天津市肿瘤医院骨与软组织肿瘤科 王国文
Florence, Alabama
The day our daughter was diagnosed with osteosarcoma was the worst day of our life. The days since have been hard for our family, but they have also been amazing. I have become closer to my child than I realized I could be. I have cried her tears, felt her pain, and prayed for her earthly healing. I love this sweet little girl with all my being; she is my baby. I could not imagine a day without her. That thought has run through my mind so many times since that awful day 9-5-06, the “what if’s” and the “how comes”. Too many questions…few answers.
I have learned more about chemotherapy, low counts, blood transfusions, platelets, reconstructive surgery, hospital visits, neutropenia, liver functions — you get the idea. More than I would have ever wanted to know in a lifetime. Taylor encompasses my life. I think of her every minute of the day. I hate this cancer; I cry to see her and all these children go through this treatment, to see them so sick, to see these other families watch their precious children have to endure this disease, as we have watched Taylor. I fight for a cure.
The friendships I gained from this journey are amazing, they understand me. I would not wish my child to have to go through this, but am grateful for the way my life has been touched by the people who have come into it because of her diagnosis. Philippians 4:11 “I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” I may not like what is happening to my sweet girl, but will fight for her life and be content with mine to have her in it. I am Blessed and grateful for this sweet life God has entrusted to me my sweet girl, Taylor.
