Sarcoma is a type of cancer that I
know all too well. This week is all about raising awareness of this cancer type
and the inspirational people that have fought it/are fighting it. I hope you
find this weeks blog posts interesting and informative.
What is Sarcoma?
Sarcoma’s are rare cancers that
develop in the supporting tissues of the body, for example muscle, bone and
nerves. They are some of the most common childhood cancers. About 55% of
sarcoma’s affect the limbs and about 15% affect the head and neck, the remainder
will be found in the abdominal area inside your body.
There are three main categories of Sarcoma: Soft tissue cancer,
Primary bone cancer and Gastro-Intestinal Stromal tumours. There are also about
seventy different sub types of sarcoma which fall into these three main
categories. Osteosarcoma falls under the primary bone cancer category.
Sarcoma UK
Sarcoma UK is the main UK charity dealing
specifically with all types of sarcomas. In March 2011, The Sarcoma Trust and
Sarcoma UK officially joined together to become known collectively as
Sarcoma UK.
Sarcoma UK has one main aim: to get the best possible
level of treatment and care for patients suffering from sarcoma. They achieve
this through three different means:
· They
fund scientific and medical research into discovering what causes sarcomas and
how to treat them
· They
deliver various types of support and information services which cover all
aspects of sarcoma
· They
raise awareness of sarcoma with members of the public, healthcare professionals
and policy makers.
The fact that sarcoma affects a lot of children is horrifying,
especially when it could mean having limbs amputated. Georgie had to have his
jaw replaced; such a horrific and painful experience for anyone, let alone a
sixteen year old boy. However not many people are aware of this type of cancer,
I wasn’t until it affected someone close to me.
Sarcoma UK has a small team of hard working staff who
work alongside doctors, nurses, researchers and other cancer charities. It has
a board of trustees, many of whom have had personal experience with sarcoma. It
is a fantastic charity working hard to bring awareness to such a terrible form
of cancer. It is so important to bring awareness to such a worthy cause and to
get this charity as much publicity as possible. It provides much needed support
and information to sarcoma patients and their families as well as much needed
research into ways of preventing and curing the disease.
Sarcoma UK relies on voluntary donations as its sole
means of funding their hugely important research projects into sarcoma. If you
know of a way of fundraising for a charity then I really do urge you to bear
Sarcoma UK in mind. Every little really does help in the battle
against sarcoma cancers.
Osteosarcoma and
Georgie
Osteosarcoma was the
type of cancer that killed Georgie. He was fifteen when his jaw swelled up. At
first he had a numb lip and weird tingling sensation. It took a while to get to
the bottom of what was wrong but we eventually found out it was a tumour in the
right mandible. After years of treatment and numerous surgeries, Georgie passed
away just months before his eighteenth birthday.
On average thirty
children per year in the UK develop osteosarcoma. This kind of cancer is more
common in teenagers and is usually found in boys. It is rare to see it in a
child under the age of five.
Osteosarcoma starts in
the bone, usually at the end where new bone tissue forms as you grow. Any bone
in the body can be affected, with Georgie it was the jaw, but it is commonly
found in the arms and legs. The knee joint is a particularly common site for
osteosarcoma.
The cause of
osteosarcoma is unknown at the moment but there are some risk factors to
consider: people with Li Fraumeni Syndrome are at more at risk of developing
osteosarcoma, as are children who have hereditary retinoblastoma. If a child
has had radiotherapy or chemotherapy in the past then they also have an
increased risk.
INJURIES THAT DAMAGE
BONES DO NOT CAUSE OSTEOSARCOMA. THEY CAN, HOWEVER, DRAW ATTENTION TO ANY
TUMOURS THAT ARE ALREADY THERE.
Pain in the bone is
the most common symptom of osteosarcoma. This may be on and off for a while at
first and then become more severe and constant over time. Swelling may also
occur. The bone can weaken and break, which is how many osteosarcoma cases are
discovered. Most symptoms can be caused by something else so it is hard to know
when to go to the doctor but if your child has persistent pain and swelling in
the bone – I would recommend taking them for a check up.
To diagnose
osteosarcoma, the doctor will do a series of tests including x-rays. If a bone
tumour is suspected then a specialist will be needed to perform further tests
such as biopsies. A physical examination of the affected area and a blood test
may also be required. Bone scans, MRI’s and CT’s may also be required.
Treatment for
osteosarcoma would depend on the size, position, grading and stage of the
tumour. Surgery is usually a very important part of the treatment as is
chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is usually used to destroy the cancer cells and
shrink the main tumour before surgery is performed. It is then used again when
surgery has been performed to blast away anything microscopic that may have
been left behind. This is to try and reduce the chance of the cancer returning.
Radiotherapy may also
be considered as it can destroy cancer cells with high energy rays but do
little damage to the normal surrounding cells.
Surgery would depend
on the size and position of the tumour. The whole limb may need to be
amputated, especially if the cancer has spread to the surrounding nerves and
blood vessel. A prosthetic limb will be fitted. Obviously this is a major thing
and I don’t want to appear to not take this seriously. Your child’s doctor
should discuss this in a great amount of detail with you and both you and your
child should receive lots of support if amputation is the only option.
In other cases, limb
sparing surgery can be used to preserve the limb. This may involve replacing
the limb with a bone graft using part of another bone in the body or it may
involve replacing the bone with prosthesis. Georgie has his jaw replaced with
another bone part TWICE.
Even with amputation,
it should be possible for your child to adjust and still be able to participate
in “normal” activities and sports are still a possibility. Long term effects
should be discussed with you before surgery.
Osteosarcoma can be a
very aggressive type of cancer, and unfortunately, survival rates are not very
good. I have a particular hatred for this cancer type and I am hopeful clinical
trials and research will discover new ways of treating, curing and preventing
osteosarcoma. Please do visit my uncle’s site www.anticancer.org.uk for more information as he is a fountain
of knowledge on the subject, and as a parent of a child, who had cancer, he is
well informed and able to explain things much better then I ever could.
This is just an introduction to the theme I will be
exploring this week but please contact Sarcoma UK if you are worried about
anything you have read here today.
Sending lots of love and positive thoughts to anyone
currently battling osteosarcoma or anyother sarcoma cancer.
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