Stage 3 Sarcoma - Any answers?

ilovejeff
ilovejeff Member Posts: 2
edited March 2014 in Sarcoma #1
My brother-in-law who I love dearly was diagnosed this past week with soft tissue sarcoma which is a stage 3. He is 42 years old and the father of 3 small children. My entire family is devastated with this news. Not only am I scared out of my wits for what he will suffer through in treatment - i just want to know that he has a "realistic" chance of making it. Anyone else out there that had a soft tissue sarcoma in the thigh? What treatments were recommended and how long did it take before normal life could hopefully resume? I appreciate greatly any thoughts, suggestions and hope you can provide to me. Thank you.

Comments

  • DeeforRG
    DeeforRG Member Posts: 1
    #2
    My nephew just had his 34th B-Day this past week. He was diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma 1 1/2 years ago. The cancer started in his left arm and quickly travelled. He has been through chemo., and in December an amputation. My suggestion: act as quickly as possible, it can be a very aggressive,and rapid traveling cancer.
    RG's has already spread to his lungs. God Bless. DC
  • ilovejeff
    ilovejeff Member Posts: 2
    #3
    DeeforRG said:

    My nephew just had his 34th B-Day this past week. He was diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma 1 1/2 years ago. The cancer started in his left arm and quickly travelled. He has been through chemo., and in December an amputation. My suggestion: act as quickly as possible, it can be a very aggressive,and rapid traveling cancer.
    RG's has already spread to his lungs. God Bless. DC

    Dear DeeforRG - i am so sorry to hear about your nephew. did he have Stage 3 also? Couldn't the drs. stabliize it in his arm with chemo? I pray for him.
  • jgatkins
    jgatkins Member Posts: 3
    #4
    I was diagnosed with Lipsarcoma in September 2002. I had surgery in October and radiation from late November through the middle of January. To date I am clear.

    I was 38 and the father of 2 boys 6 & 9. It can be a scary prospect when you learn the news. Especially for me and my family. We live out of state away from the rest of our families.

    As a man I was oddly more concerned about keeping my job and being able to support my family. Maybe this helped me in keeping the negative thoughts far away. I think my wife and family members were more devastated than I was.

    In all, I feel I recovered fairly rapidly. The key is to find good doctors, act fast and follow their advice.

    The prospects for treatments today are amazing. I know you and your family are concerned for your brother in law.

    Support him and his family during this time.
  • rdallen
    rdallen Member Posts: 2
    #5
    Hi!
    I was diagnosed with a liposarcoma in my right butt cheek in the fall of '94. As you are now, I was searching for answers. I was fortunate to get referred to an orthopedic cancer surgeon at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, who referred me to the "guru" of sarcoma chemo docs at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in LA. During the first 6 months of '95, I went through 3 chemo treatments involving dripping the chemo cocktail from a fanny pack at my home for 5 days at a time. After the chemo treatments were completed, I had 3 rounds of radiation and then, surgery to remove the tumor. It was a rough 6 months but not as bad as expected. For me, because of the location of the tumor,the radiation was worse than the chemo. Although the surgery was deemed a success, they put me through an additional round of chemo after surgery as "insurance" to prevent spread of the disease. They warned me I may walk with a limp and not play my favorite sports, golf and tennis, as well as I did before the surgery. I am glad to report, I do not walk with a limp and I play golf and tennis as good as, if not better than, I did before the surgery.
    It was about 3 months after the surgery that I was back to normal - gaining most of the 33 pounds I had lost, getting my hair back and going back to work full time.
    Your brother in law needs a positive attitude, good doctors familiar with treating sarcomas, and a good family support group.
    I now only go back for checkups once a year and am in better health than before the surgery!
    If you have any questions, my email is rdallen811@aol.com
  • shellstar
    shellstar Member Posts: 1
    #6
    Hello there.My brother in law was diagnosed with liposarcoma 6 yrs ago.He has had 5 surgerys.He had one testicle removed,one kidney and several portions of his intestine .What we are afraid of most is that this demon that comes back always,will attach itself to something that cannot be taken out.His doctor is in Cinncinati.He said that liposarcoma comes back,thats what it does.So,waiting is a killer,literally.Now it is back again just after surgery in July.I dont know when this will stop.And my mother just had breast cancer so...I hate CANCER !!!!
  • jerzfam
    jerzfam Member Posts: 15
    #7
    shellstar said:

    Hello there.My brother in law was diagnosed with liposarcoma 6 yrs ago.He has had 5 surgerys.He had one testicle removed,one kidney and several portions of his intestine .What we are afraid of most is that this demon that comes back always,will attach itself to something that cannot be taken out.His doctor is in Cinncinati.He said that liposarcoma comes back,thats what it does.So,waiting is a killer,literally.Now it is back again just after surgery in July.I dont know when this will stop.And my mother just had breast cancer so...I hate CANCER !!!!

    I'm so sorry about your brother in law. It is so hard to see people we love in pain. We all hate cancer, that's for sure. It is a demon and it makes every effort to defeat us. We must stay strong and fight back. The journey is incredibly tough and the road is long. Your brother in law will be in my prayers. I pray that he will be able to win the battle. Faith, family and friends will help incredibly. The support I got made all the difference in the world, especially when I felt defeated and wanted to give up. I will also pray for your mother and the rest of your family. Please try hard to stay strong for them. You will be one of the blessings they will find in the middle of the chaos. God bless you.
  • diannecc
    diannecc Member Posts: 1
    #8
    rdallen said:

    Hi!
    I was diagnosed with a liposarcoma in my right butt cheek in the fall of '94. As you are now, I was searching for answers. I was fortunate to get referred to an orthopedic cancer surgeon at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, who referred me to the "guru" of sarcoma chemo docs at Cedars Sinai Medical Center in LA. During the first 6 months of '95, I went through 3 chemo treatments involving dripping the chemo cocktail from a fanny pack at my home for 5 days at a time. After the chemo treatments were completed, I had 3 rounds of radiation and then, surgery to remove the tumor. It was a rough 6 months but not as bad as expected. For me, because of the location of the tumor,the radiation was worse than the chemo. Although the surgery was deemed a success, they put me through an additional round of chemo after surgery as "insurance" to prevent spread of the disease. They warned me I may walk with a limp and not play my favorite sports, golf and tennis, as well as I did before the surgery. I am glad to report, I do not walk with a limp and I play golf and tennis as good as, if not better than, I did before the surgery.
    It was about 3 months after the surgery that I was back to normal - gaining most of the 33 pounds I had lost, getting my hair back and going back to work full time.
    Your brother in law needs a positive attitude, good doctors familiar with treating sarcomas, and a good family support group.
    I now only go back for checkups once a year and am in better health than before the surgery!
    If you have any questions, my email is rdallen811@aol.com

    I just came across your posting from back in November. I am amazed in that I have a sarcoma in the same place as you. Right butt cheek. They have classified mine as a leio....something. Since they told me what I had was pretty rare and the fact of where it is being pretty rare, I was suprised to find someone with the same thing. I would love to discuss this more with you if you have the time.
  • Mark402
    Mark402 Member Posts: 3
    #9
    shellstar said:

    Hello there.My brother in law was diagnosed with liposarcoma 6 yrs ago.He has had 5 surgerys.He had one testicle removed,one kidney and several portions of his intestine .What we are afraid of most is that this demon that comes back always,will attach itself to something that cannot be taken out.His doctor is in Cinncinati.He said that liposarcoma comes back,thats what it does.So,waiting is a killer,literally.Now it is back again just after surgery in July.I dont know when this will stop.And my mother just had breast cancer so...I hate CANCER !!!!

    "What we are afraid of most is that this demon that comes back always,will attach itself to something that cannot be taken out."

    Well, it's my mother's first time around and it's on her heart.
    She's currently undergoing an MRI to determine the scope - if it has penetrated and where.
    I'm still holding out a bit of hope that it's in the connective tissue between the heart and lungs, or at worst in a slightly easier place on the heart to operate (artery, etc.).

    This is going too fast - she was only diagnosed 10 days ago and is declining rapidly.
  • cheylaineb
    cheylaineb Member Posts: 4
    #10
    DeeforRG said:

    My nephew just had his 34th B-Day this past week. He was diagnosed with soft tissue sarcoma 1 1/2 years ago. The cancer started in his left arm and quickly travelled. He has been through chemo., and in December an amputation. My suggestion: act as quickly as possible, it can be a very aggressive,and rapid traveling cancer.
    RG's has already spread to his lungs. God Bless. DC

    Keep hope and keep praying
    I am a 14 year cancer survivor and I had soft tissue sarcoma in my left arm. I it start out as the size of a pea when I was 17 year and was misdiagnosed as fatty tissue it didn't start growning until I was 19 year old it got to the sized of a golf ball my sister encourage me to go to a specialist and he was not clear on what it was. I got a biopsy done and it came back cancerous. The surgeon did surgery. I assuming he never perform surgery on this type of cancer and he removed it wrong. I found 2 month later there were piece still left in my are. I then went to Cleveland Clinic they took Awesome care of me.
    I had a 25% chance. I was told my sarcoma was in stage 5 the last stage. I had get surgery again and the rest of the sarcoma removed. I choose not to get amputation of my arm and chemotherapy. I figure if it was in its last stages it had already spread. I did radiation treatment and I have been in remission for 14 years. Please tell him, Keep hope, keep praying, and keep his spirit up. During my fight I kept my spirit up and kept living. I went to my treatment like I was going to see my future and my faith played a huge role. Please tell him to stay strong in spirit and in faith it will pull him through.
  • pkkeenan@cox.net
    pkkeenan@cox.net Member Posts: 1
    #11
    Today is the 10th anniversary


    Today is the 10th anniversary of my surgery, and I am still alive. I had a stage 3b tumor in my right thigh.  I was very shocked and scared. My oncologist didn't give me a lot of hope, but my kids were one and three at the time, so I had a lot to live for. I had 30 rounds of radiation, surgery to remove my vastus lateralus and chemo. The surgery and chemo were very tough. The radiation was not as hard. The chemo almost killed me. My leg is still painful every day, but i don't complain about it since I am so happy to be here. I also had another baby after my treatments.  God is good. Best wishes to your brother in law. It is a rought rough road ahead, but he can do it.

  • t123
    t123 Member Posts: 24
    #12
    pkkeenan@cox.net said:

    Today is the 10th anniversary


    Today is the 10th anniversary of my surgery, and I am still alive. I had a stage 3b tumor in my right thigh.  I was very shocked and scared. My oncologist didn't give me a lot of hope, but my kids were one and three at the time, so I had a lot to live for. I had 30 rounds of radiation, surgery to remove my vastus lateralus and chemo. The surgery and chemo were very tough. The radiation was not as hard. The chemo almost killed me. My leg is still painful every day, but i don't complain about it since I am so happy to be here. I also had another baby after my treatments.  God is good. Best wishes to your brother in law. It is a rought rough road ahead, but he can do it.

    your story gives others hope & strenghtt
    Thank you for sharing. Very up lifting. You are a good role model
  • Solsticebaby100
    Solsticebaby100 Member Posts: 1
    #13
    Comments regarding your brother in law

    It has been a year since my diagnosis.  I had a tumor in my back which my primary care Dr had originally said all I needed was a

    support bra.  Anyway after surgery, radiation and weekly chemo treatments for a year, I am clear and feeling pretty good.  At the

    chemo center in Colorado I am known as the miracle girl.  I am 62 and have been given more time to spend with my grand kids.  My

    first hope was to get out of the wheelchair, did that, second hope is to walk without the walker and to some degree am doing that.

    My next milestone is to get off the morphine.  

     

    Life is good for the most part.  Usually there is only one bad day the day after chemo.

    I have rejoined my book club, am showing some art work this summer at our neighborhood art fair and spending mothers day with

    my grand kids.

    i believe I have been heeled and look forward to the next phase of my life.

    good luck and Godspeed to your brother in law and his family.  Family and friends are key.

  • ssutton19
    ssutton19 Member Posts: 2
    #14
    Dad was just diagnosed with Stage III sarcoma

    Hi everyone. My dad was just diagnosed with Stage III soft tissue sarcoma. He had a golf-ball sized tumor on his back and had it removed by surgery last week. Two years ago he had prostate cancer and has been in the clear for that since then. He has to get radiation next month and then a round of chemotherapy. I'm very worried about him, because he seems to be in denial. He thinks this is no big deal, he will still work full-time while going through chemotherapy, and then continue on with his life. I know it will be tough on him, as my stepdad passed away in 2010 (carcinoid cancer) and I've seen how chemotherapy can really wreak havoc on one's body. I want to be there for my dad, but he is very closed off and stoic... How can I help him? I feel really helpless right now.

  • ssutton19
    ssutton19 Member Posts: 2
    #15
    Dad was just diagnosed with Stage III sarcoma

    Hi everyone. My dad was just diagnosed with Stage III soft tissue sarcoma. He had a golf-ball sized tumor on his back and had it removed by surgery last week. Two years ago he had prostate cancer and has been in the clear for that since then. He has to get radiation next month and then a round of chemotherapy. I'm very worried about him, because he seems to be in denial. He thinks this is no big deal, he will still work full-time while going through chemotherapy, and then continue on with his life. I know it will be tough on him, as my stepdad passed away in 2010 (carcinoid cancer) and I've seen how chemotherapy can really wreak havoc on one's body. I want to be there for my dad, but he is very closed off and stoic... How can I help him? I feel really helpless right now.

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