Diagnosed with sarcoma? Let's share

Luckily 30 days of radiation but still open would and looking at flap surgeru

Welcome @celeste59. That must be an uncomfortable place to have treatment and to recover. What treatments have you had? How are you doing?

Stage 2 high grade sacoma in my buttox

Hi @me67 @udderplace @brinys @deborahe @jeffk @Laydeewinx @sheila2005 @funkynotes @zshivaughn @jacobito @swstar,
I'd like to invite you to the new discussion group for people living with sarcoma. What type of sarcoma have you been diagnosed with? Are you currently in treatment or finished with treatment?

I’m a 69 year old male in otherwise generally good health. In September I was diagnosed with Liposarcoma of the Retroperitoneal area with a 6.1cm x 6.7cm tumor abutting top of my left kidney. Telltale symptoms (fatigue, night sweats, dry cough) began in April. The diagnosis was made at Fox Chase Cancer Center of Temple University Health Systems in Phila. The pathology report after biopsy of tumor indicates a subtype of well-differentiated cells, though the Surgeon Oncologist said there is potentially some de-differentiated cells showing up in surrounding fat. His recommendation is five weeks (25 days) of radiation on the tumor area, followed by 5 weeks of recovery, then open surgery to remove the tumor mass, left kidney and possibly the spleen. The left kidney is currently healthy and is only abutted by the tumor making it close in proximity. Per the surgeon, the reason the kidney would be removed is due to the damage caused by the radiation treatments. In my meeting with the Radiation Oncologist, I asked if the radiation treatment can be made precise enough to treat the tumor and prevent/minimize damage to the left kidney. She said that she would adjust the target area based on what the surgeon’s plan was regarding the margin he plans to remove (full kidney or partial kidney). My hope is that both radiologist and surgeon can agree to work to spare a portion of the left kidney, but I don’t think the surgeon is inclined to change his plan. I am going for a second opinion at Penn Medicine Sarcoma program this coming week, but Fox Chase doctors bizarrely told me in advance that they expect I will be told by the Penn doctor that he recommends surgery up front, without radiation treatment. If so, that demonstrates how rare this cancer is, where two leading cancer treatment centers in the same city do not agree on the same treatment protocol. If the second opinion recommendation by Penn Medicine is for surgery up front as predicated by Fox Chase doctors, I may be facing the need for a possible third opinion.

I have stage 4 Leiomyosarcoma. Football-size tumor mostly removed. Nodules on right lung and liver. Starting chemo soon. Live north of Mpls-St Paul Mn.
~ Mary

Hello @bicycle3 and thanks for your note. All of us here on Connect have such extraordinarily unique journeys. And yet we all have this one common thread in our diagnosis of sarcoma cancer.

Your journey is so very different than my own. I think I have dealt with a lot but I can't imagine a 20 year journey with such a mysterious and powerful cancer. I sure admire your amazing level of activity. I try to do a little aerobic activity and lift a few times a week which is a big change for a guy who used to be a genuine "gym rat"!!