Osteosarcoma

Hi. My son is 15 years old and was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in September 2003. He just had a limb salvage operation which looks to be successful. I would love to talk to you. TPerigen@hotmail.com

Hi, my name is Victor and I diagnosed with Osteogenic Sarcoma in 1983, this was 20 years ago. I am now 36, married and have a wonderful life. At the time of my diagnoses I was 13yrs old. The hospital that I was admitted to also said that my leg had to be amputated, but my parents decided to get a second opinion from another hospital. A friend of the family recommended to us Memorial Sloan Kettering in NYC. They gave me a 50-50 chance to come out of the operation with my leg. Which was the best chance I was given. The Doctor was Joseph Lane, he said that this operation was done on one of the Kennedy's son and he lost his leg 3 yrs before I was operated. Thank God mine was a success. I became the first successful tibia transplant receipent. My leg has plenty of scares by I didn't lose my leg. So I believe you should get a second and even a third opinion before making this decision. I hope and pray that your son comes out ok from this ordeal

To Bradsmom-my 11 yr old son was diagnosed in Sept 2003-he had a total knee replacement and 1/2 of his shin bone removed on Dec. 23. Now we are doing physical therapy and going back in for the rest of the chemo treatments-all 38 weeks. I hope your son is alright-we are trying to keep our attitude positive but sometimes it is hard! I would love to talk to you-I will email you.

Hello BradsMom,
I'm Jacob's Mom from Louisiana. Jacob was diagnosed with osteosarcoma of the hip January 2003. We went through half of the chemo protocal and then surgery was on May 12th. His right hip(iliac)and leg was amputated. He was a very sick 15 year old at the time and we were afraid for his life. We prayed without ceasing and by the Grace of God his life was spared. He is learning to walk with a prosthesis and we feel extremely blessed to have a healthy 16 year old still with us. Yes, it was the most difficult experience ever in our lives, however we are better because of this amount of suffering. I am writing a book and would love to help you. I have become an advocate for terminally ill cancer in children and Jacob has a web site. Please visit. www.eschoolk8.com/Jacob.html
Advice:
Pray for the doctors and caregivers of your son, especially for the right decisions. A leg lost is not as critical as a life. God will get you through. Give it all to Him as we are not in control.
God Bless,
Jacob's Mom

soxx said:

Hi. I'm Sarah's mom. Sarah was diagnosed with osteo in Sept.2001 when she was 12 yrs. old. She had a tumor on her femur which shattered her bone. The Dr.removed aprox. 7 inches of her femur and replaced it with a cadavor bone. She is doing fine. Where was brad's tumor? There are several alternatives to amputation.(although every case is different) Please ask for another opinion. Sarah was admitted to Syracuse University Hospital in upstate NY. They are wonderful there. Please let me know how Brad is doing and I will pray for all of you.

My daughter was diagnosed in June 2003. She refused amputation and found doctors at Sloan Kettering who agreed that it was possible to cure her with chemo and limb salvage surgery. She finished treatment last month and is walking on her own leg after a bone transplant. She expects to be back to her teaching job next fall. Good luck and don't give up. During her treatment we met lots of families who have come through this

o2cute4u said:

Hi. My 9 year old sister was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in late May of 2002. She was "cured" in March of 2003. She relapsed in July of that same year. This morning, on June 3rd of 2004, she had her leg amputated. It was her whole leg. I haven't seen her yet, but I will be going to the hospital later on. I think that you should try alternative medicine. It was actually working on my sister, but a number of reasons pressured us to amputate the leg. Best of luck!

Sorry to hear about your sister. But the same exact thing happened to my son. He relapsed and will have his leg amputated next month.He is sixteen years old and we live in Mexico. He was diagnosed in Nov. of 2002, and relapsed in May of this year.He is in chemo right know..

mdog said:

osteosarcoma
Hi!!! you just need to stay positive. I was 16 when I was diagnosed and I just got the news that I am in remission. I have never been so happy! But tell him to keep his chin up, I was faced with losing my arm but with the support of my family I made it. Keep a positive surrounding and offer emotional care when needed. It is hard to stay positive but if the envireoment is there it gets easier. just never give up! I am 19 years old and cancer FREE!!!! He is srtong, he can win.

hi my name is james i had it
hi my name is james i had it in my shoulder when i was 12 i was playing football for my middle school plus i was playing little league so my doctor shrugged it off he said i just pulled the muscle badly and after 2 monthes i knew it was cancer from the beggining somehow i just knew then he did tests and they came back positive i lost my shoulder blade to it and they never put anything in its place so now i am embarrsed of my scars cuz that isnt the only type i have had i have been dealing with cancer all my life but i am still in remission from the age 14 and am now 24 but i still hate my scara i dont take my shirt off if i can help it and when i see them it makes me sick knowing that im deformed and all my mother says is get over it but its kinda hard to go over something as big as cancer none of my friends understand what its like cuz they havent had it so i turned here for surport

zachsdad said:

survivor of large gowth in pelvis
I had a large in my pelvis when I was 32 yrs old. It was the size of a football and a half. I had surgery in oct of that year.The cancer came back in about a year at that point I went though radition treatments. The cancer returned a couplemore times the last time it had growen around the main blood vessel to my leg so they had to remove my leg, hip kidney and everything on left side. I was 40 yrs old at that time. I'm now 52 yrs old and have been cancer free ever since. I'm sure things have improved since than as far as treatments are concerned. I made it with the love and support from my family and friends. I wish your son and your family well you will be in my prayers.
Bill Smith

Alex
my son was dx'd in October 01 and had a surgery called the van ness where they remove the tumor and most of the surrounding bone (right knee) most of his right leg below the knee rotate the remainder of the leg including the foot and reattach it to the rest of the existing femur. When you look at him his foot is on backwards but now continues to work as his new knee. It is simply amazing what they have done for him. He was diagnosed stage 4 at the age of 7 remission for 5 years, went for a routine xray where they found a ping pong ball size tumor in his lower right lobe. They removed most of the lobe in 2007 and now we are clear again 2 1/2 years. We currently are in for scans every 4 months but it certainly is worth it. He is now 15 and is an avid skateboarder and snowboarder. Thank goodness for people like Terry Fox who ran across Canada (with the same cancer) to help fund research for this deadly disease.