Moments in Sarcoma Award Recipient: German De la Rosa Cabrera

l Moments in Sarcoma Awards

This week, the Liddy Shriver Sarcoma Initiative announced the two recipients of the Moments in Sarcoma awards. German De la Rosa Cabrera, an osteosarcoma survivor from Mexico City, received a sponsorship to participate in the “core” Team Sarcoma Initiative bike tour. While some of German’s thoughts were presented in the press release, we thought visitors might enjoy reading more of what he had to say about his life and the Moments in Sarcoma award.

An Interview with German

How has having cancer as a teenager influenced who you are today?

German: It was very difficult to live with. You really don’t know what to do. I personally think it helped me to mature and grow, to see life from another point of view and to appreciate the moments I am presented with in life.

I am writing to you from the United States. Do you think having sarcoma in Mexico is different than it is in the United States?

German: I believe that cancer is the same anywhere in the world, attacking us all. The difference is that not all countries provide equal support – like research resources, medicines, and facilities.

In your “moment” you wrote about finishing up treatment and moving on with your life, but having ongoing problems with your leg for ten years. What was that like for you?

German: It was a painful process for ten years, and the decision to amputate the leg freed me. I am in better health without suffering, and I can do more independent living…playing sports and playing in a band.

You participated in the 2008 Team Sarcoma run in Mexico City, and we have a picture of you crossing the finish line. Nineteen hundred people participated in that event; what was that experience like?

German: Well, it was my first 5km race, and it was a great experience!!! I felt comfortable and complete to have run to help a foundation supporting children with cancer (We Will Never Give Up Foundation) and researching treatments for cancer. I’m trying to involve more people who will be run in support, so that we can provide better quality of life for people with cancer and motivate them to go forward and never give up.

What are your hopes for the  Team Sarcoma bike tour?

German: First, it will be a new experience for me, traveling and seeing new places, knowing that people in this tour are people who are cancer survivors or are in treatment. And it will be good knowing that we have moved forward and we have not surrendered, and to share our experiences with each other.

Is it important to work to increase sarcoma research funding?

German: Whether it’s important to do is a personal decision. In this life you don’t know what’s going to happen in the future. Some people are living with cancer right now. You never know… someone who has been healthy all his life can become a cancer patient.

Cancer doesn’t know economic status, religion, nationality, age or gender, so we all run the same risk, but what we can do is move forward and pass this message to everyone and encourage them. Cancer doesn’t mean death…. cancer is part of life. It helps us to mature and see life in a different way and makes us better people.

German’s Band, Televisor

An Interview with German’s Brother, Adrian

How would you describe German?

Adrian: German is a guy who never gives up despite all the obstacles the life has. He is someone who always smiles at life and strives for his dreams no matter what it takes or how hard life can be. He is very friendly; wherever he goes he always makes friends.

What has German taught you?

Adrian: German has taught me to always keep fighting no matter how hard or how big a problem is, to always give my best in each situation and to be optimistic even when problems seem to be impossible. My brother survived cancer even when doctors told him that it was almost impossible. He taught me that no challenge is bigger than I am.

A Moment in Sarcoma from German

Hello my name is German De la Rosa. I am 26 years old, and I live in Mexico City.

I am a cancer survivor, an osteosarcoma survivor to be exact. It happened when I was 14 years old (in 1996) when I got hit on the knee while playing basketball. It happened really fast. We thought that the hit had swollen the knee, but it gradually kept growing, becoming red and hot. After 6 months I went to the National Institute of Pediatrics, where I received help quickly and was informed that I had cancer. The tumor was osteosarcoma (bone cancer). I was treated with chemotherapy. The tumor was removed from my knee, and I got an internal prosthesis in order to save my leg. Throughout the 10 years I had 2 more prostheses, but every day the bone was becoming weaker. I just had to try to be “complete.”

In 2005 I had an accident and fractured the bone. It wasn’t in a good condition, and on January 30, 2006, I decided to amputate the leg and no longer be suffering from extreme pain. I started using an external prosthesis, a “C” leg, which I still have, and I am still learning to walk properly.

Currently I have a normal life, I’m an audio engineer, music producer, bassist and vocalist of my band, Televisor. I’m helping people who suffer through similar situations as a volunteer in the foundation “Aqui nadie se rinde.” I like to say to all patients: Never give up, strive to fulfill your dreams. Cancer isn’t a disease; it is a lesson of life. A disabled person isn’t someone who doesn’t have a part of his body, a disabled person is someone who refuses to see and accept the reality in which we live.

German’s moment in Spanish

Hola mi nombre es Germán de la Rosa, tengo 26 años y vivo en México Distrito Federal.

Soy un sobreviviente del cáncer, de un osteosarcoma para ser exacto, esto paso cuando tenia 14 años (en 1996) y todo a raíz de un golpe en la rodilla jugando basketball. Todo paso realmente rápido, pensamos que por el golpe se me había hinchado la rodilla pero poco a poco fue creciendo, poniéndose rojo y caliente, después de 6 meses fui al Instituto Nacional de Pediatría, donde recibí ayuda de inmediato y me dijeron que es el cáncer.

El tumor fue cáncer, osteosarcoma (cáncer en el hueso) me trataron con quimioterapias, me quitaron el tumor de la rodilla y me pusieron una prótesis interna para salvar mi pierna, pasaron 10 años y 2 prótesis más, pero cada día el hueso se iba debilitando y todo por tratar de estar “completo”.

En el 2005 me fracture el hueso, como ya no estaba en buenas condiciones, decidí amputarme la pierna y dejar de sufrir por dolores muy fuertes (el 30 de enero del 2006). Empecé a usar una prótesis externa, una C Leg, que aun tengo y sigo aprendiendo a usarla correctamente.

• You can also read the press release in Spanish.