On Thursday I got the call from my Orthopedic Oncologist the bone scan confirmed that we are only dealing with this one area and there does not appear to be anything that has spread, The tumor board determined that my freeloader warrants a biopsy. I had hoped they would come back with different results but that was not to be. The instances of chondrosarcoma are pretty rare and more often than not tumors in bones are benign enchondromas that don’t require any treatment beyond watching them, mine is in a bad spot and could become problematic in later life if left alone, or it could just be there till i die and never do anything.
as much as I would like it to be something like an infection or something, my research as shown this is highly unlikely. my biggest difficulty to explain to people that at present I am running at 100%, i have no pain and no limitations of my motion. any kind of surgery I have will in fact make this worse.
I think the biggest difference is that there is a difference in Carcinomas and Sarcomas. Carcinomas are fast growing cells that spread quickly and take over organs, while Sarcomas are slow growing, and tend to stay in one place for long periods of time, the type I have either the chondrosarcoma or enchondroma are both the slow moving cancers of the cartilage, these have started in the cartilage that holds my pelvis together and have taken up residence in my left pelvis. and should stay there for awhile, Sarcomas in general don’t respond to the regular types of chemo therapy and radiation, although there are chemo drugs and radiation teatments they can use if a tumor is on the skull or spine where removing the bone would be ill-advised.
So whats next for me?
I have a Biopsy at 7 am on Thursday, after that I will wait for 5 to 6 working days for my results. At that time my doctor and I will sit down and discuss what surgical options I have should they be needed, I am functioning on the idea that i will need surgery.
the procedure they would need to do is called an internal hemi-pelvectomy with resection. What they would do is remove a sizable chunk of my pelvis and replace it with alograft pieces and potentially some of my own bone to recreate my acetabullum or in laymens terms the cup my hip bone sticks into, I would then get a full hip replacement, and start the really long road to recovery. there is one specter that is lurking out there, and that being a complete hemi-pelvectomy where they amputate my leg, this would be a very bad thing for me, although my tumor isn’t nearly bad enough to warrant that.
everyone keeps asking what do i need done, and I keep saying “at the moment nothing” but that will come soon enough im sure.
More when i know more.