?U N I V E R S I T Y O F M I N N E S O T A A M P L A T Z C H I L D R E N ? S H O S P I T A L

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Gemma, sister, Bill, dad, and Neil, pediatric sarcoma survivor.

Teamwork proves powerful against sarcoma

For most 14-year-olds, pain and swelling in the knee is the result of a fall off a bike, or a slide into home base. For Neil and his parents, Sarah and Bill, it was the start of a long journey, fraught with emotional highs and lows.

Neil had been experiencing pain in his knee for months, and was taking pain killers every day. ?That?s when we decided to take him into the doctor ? the pain just didn?t seem to be getting better,? said Bill. The diagnosis was unexpected. Neil had sarcoma, a type of cancer that typically develops in the bones or soft tissues of the body, and is often found in the legs. In the U.S. each year, sarcoma accounts for 10 to 15 percent of all newly diagnosed cancers in people under the age of 20.

uofmchildrenshospital.org

November 2009 vol. 3, issue 5 Published bimonthly for health-care professionals?Estimated Read Time: 15 minutes

The choice for sarcoma treatment

After meeting with several oncologists, Neil and his family decided to pursue treatment at University of Minnesota Amplatz Children?s Hospital. ?The other physicians that we met with had only dealt with this type of cancer a dozen or so times. We weren?t comfortable with that,? said Bill. The family met with pediatric oncologist Brenda Weigel, M.D., who leads the Sarcoma Program at the University of Minnesota. continues on page 2>>

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