Sarcomas Archives

December 1, 2024 Word for Word Media

We learn how Reach For A Dream’s Laughter Hero Programme is sharing the gift of giggles with children undergoing cancer treatment.

You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies

In addition to essential medical interventions, psychological and emotional care plays a vital role in helping children with cancer to navigate their journey with hope and resilience. One of the most powerful emotional interventions lies in the power of laughter, sometimes described as the best medicine. The Reach For A Dream Foundation, through our Laughter Hero programme, demonstrates the profound healing…

How is it diagnosed? How is osteosarcoma diagnosed?

December 1, 2024 Word for Word Media

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Dr Cathryn Walton helps us understand the diagnostic process of osteosarcoma and treatment options thereof.

You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies

Osteosarcoma is a rare malignant tumour of bone that comprises 1% of all cancers diagnosed. Of all the new diagnoses of osteosarcomas, 50% of those are diagnosed in children younger than 20 years of age. It’s characterised by the production of immature bone and the most common areas for development are the growth areas of the bones in the leg (femur and tibia). Osteosarcoma typically develops in the…

Know your cancer Synovial sarcoma

July 29, 2022 Word for Word Media

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Dr Daleen Geldenhuys educates us on what synovial sarcoma is, the two types you get, the causes, treatment and prognosis. Synovial sarcoma is a soft tissue tumour. It’s rare overall but more common in certain age groups. About one to three people in a million receive a diagnosis of this disease each year. Synovial sarcoma is one of the most common soft tissue tumours in adolescents and young patients. Approximately one third of cases occur in the first two decades of life. The mean age of patients at diagnosis is approximately 30 years. It’s associated with a history of a small nodule that…

Patient Stories Emma-Liegh Riggien – Eternally grateful to be a survivor

July 29, 2022 Word for Word Media

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Emma-Liegh Riggien shares how she underwent limb-saving surgery when she was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma at age 15. Emma-Liegh Riggien (28) lives in Hillcrest, Kwa-Zulu Natal. Diagnosed at 15 Emma was diagnosed with synovial sarcoma when she was 15 years old. “For 18 months prior to being diagnosed, I couldn’t straighten my left arm but we never though anything of it until it started to hurt when being pulled straight,” Emma explains. “I was at a Halloween party where we were all dancing and someone pulled my arm straight and it hurt so badly. At about midnight my dad, Philip, took me…

Patient Stories Genevivé Roxmouth – Crown of glory

June 1, 2022 Word for Word Media

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With the most magnificent and longest red hair, Genevivé Roxmouth shares her story of finding her crown of glory once diagnosed with synovial sarcoma.

Genevivé Roxmouth (34) lives in Krugersdorp, Gauteng with her second husband, Harry, and her son, Hendrik (12). Diagnosed at 24 In 2012, Genevivé started losing weight and had a cough. “Having a little child, you try and keep the medical aid for them. So, I medicated myself at home by taking cough syrup for about three months, but it didn’t help. I also started getting out of breath. Then one Saturday I coughed up blood….

Know your cancer Sarcoma cancer

June 1, 2022 Word for Word Media

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Dr Daleen Geldenhuys describes where sarcoma cancer forms in the body, how it can be treated and the likelihood of progression. Sarcomas are different to carcinomas. They arise from a different layer of tissue that can be best understood by knowing the embryological origin of tissues in the body. The trilaminar or three-layered disc (embryo) develops three weeks after conception. It consists of the ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm. These layers are arranged on top of each other. The mesoderm will become the cartilage, bone, fascia, smooth or skeletal muscle, blood vessels, lymph vessels and coverings of organs, such as mesothelium….

Frequently Asked Questions Sarcoma cancer – Frequently Asked Questions

June 1, 2022 Word for Word Media

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Living with Cancer, an NGO, launched the first patient led cancer registry in SA and offers support to anyone diagnosed with cancer. It was started by Belinda Wagner, an angiosarcoma survivor. She shares the most frequently asked questions when people are diagnosed with sarcoma cancer. What is sarcoma cancer? A rare cancer that grows in connective tissue and cells that connect or support other tissues in our bodies. The cancerous tumours are normally found in bones, muscles, tendons, cartilage, nerves, fat or blood vessels throughout the body. There are more than 80 types of sarcomas that are grouped into soft…

Patient Stories Belinda Wagner: determined as ever

July 29, 2020 Word for Word Media

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We hear how Belinda Wagner, a life coach, facilitator, lecturer and marketing consultant, ensured her diagnosis of angiosarcoma would not take control of her life. Belinda Wagner (48) lives in Fourways, Gauteng. She is married with two daughters, aged 18 and 14. Diagnosis It took six months for doctors to diagnose Belinda with angiosarcoma. It started in July 2016 when Belinda got bronchitis. In August, she started coughing up blood, had an overall feeling of not being well, and had abdominal pain. Medication was prescribed for her chest and coughing which was followed by an array of tests, until a CT scan, in November, showed…

Sarcomas Explaining sarcomas and the treatment option of radiation

July 28, 2020 Word for Word Media

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Dr Nirasha Chiranjan, a radiation oncologist, educates us on the different types of sarcomas and the treatment option of radiation for soft tissue sarcomas. Types of sarcomas There are a wide range of sarcomas that form in the body; some are benign whilst others are malignant. Sarcomas can form: from blood cells; in the cells around joints or tendons; in cartilage, bone, fibrous tissue, skin, mouth, internal organs, in connective tissue and in soft tissue. Determining your treatment pathway The type of sarcoma a patient is diagnosed with will determine the type of specialist team and treatment approach the patient requires. Soft tissue sarcomas…

Patient Stories In this together – Cameron Martin

September 30, 2019 Word for Word Media

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Sixteen-year-old Cameron Martin shares how his family and friends have helped him adjust since he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. Cameron Martin (16) lives in Weltevredenpark, Gauteng with his parents, Roger and Samantha, and his younger sister, Caitlyn. When meeting the polite teenager, one would never think he has just undergone major surgery and cancer treatment. His relaxed and level-headed attitude is supreme. Diagnosis in 2018 Being an avid sportsman, playing cricket, hockey and at times athletics, Cameron automatically assumed his sore knee (right) was a sports injury. He went for physiotherapy but the ‘injury’ kept on recurring. With Cameron’s…

Sarcomas The role of radiotherapy in the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma

July 27, 2018 Word for Word Media

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Radiation oncologist, Dr Nirasha Chiranjan, educates us on how radiotherapy is used in the treatment of soft tissue sarcoma. What are soft tissue sarcomas (STS)? STS are rare malignant tumours that arise from mesenchymal tissue (soft tissue) at any body site. They represent less than 1% of all newly diagnosed malignant tumours1. The most common sites are the extremities (limbs), trunk and retroperitoneum (abdominal cavity, usually internal)2. Therapeutic goals Before the introduction of radiotherapy for extremity STS, amputation was the standard of care which resulted in significant physical and psychological morbidity. In treating extremity STS, the major therapeutic goals are…

Patient Stories Life over limb

July 27, 2017 Word for Word Media

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Emily Anne Gray tells us how she confronted a cancer diagnosis at age of 11, and how she chose life over limb. Emily Anne Gray (25), a Paralympic swimmer, lives in Johannesburg, Gauteng. Pain Being an 11-year-old, Emily loved running. So, when she began to feel an aching pain in her left leg, close to her hip joint, the physiotherapist’s reasoning that it was a muscle injury, from all the races she competed in, made sense. Though, after several different tissue treatments, the pain never subsided. Emily’s parents then took her to a chiropractor who sent her for X-rays,…