I just was released after a resection of liposarcoma in my abdomen (very rare), which also can come back after a time. My reoccurrences was 3 and 5 years. By coming to Mayo for the 5 year recurrence instead of my local regional hospital center, I was given additional choices instead of just resection surgery alone. I was given 5 weeks of pre operative radiology and intra operative radiation to catch any problem areas the surgeon thought should be left to clean up anything he couldn't see or the pre treatments may not have focused on or could not properly handle (such as bone marrow).

Yes regular scans are a must, but also being at the right place (Mayo) with their amazing team approach. I wish my previous resections would have had the RAD treatments as per a study my Mayo Radiologist found.. my percentages of recurrence went from 34% to 11% by adding the RAD treatments !!.. As far as percentages go, I like to believe my percentages are even better since the quality and presicion of treatment at May is greater than other hospitals that may be lesser ranked. Takeaway I always believe in - ALL HOSPITALS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL. One hospitals plan of treatment may not even be in the vernacular of another. They may not perform many instances of certain operations. I like to use US News and World Report to lookup specialty rankings and compare. Mayo is almost always neat the top. PS I am not a Mayo employee, just a two time major surgery patient. : )

I have been to Mayo before with great success. They really go the extra mile. My thread of hope? Work the percentages and be in a place that can find any new methods of treatment for the future resections that can bring your recurrence percentages down. There are ALWAYS new studies being done. And even with rare cancers, there may (as mine was) be new therapies that give you a better chance in the future as treatment evolves and improves!