The month of July is sarcoma awareness month. As hospitals and clinics may acknowledge this many are unaware of the cancer. In honor of this awareness month this article review a brief explanation of the disease with addition to a case study for better understanding of the affects the cancer has on a patient.
Sarcoma being derived from Greek origin fix of sarx means “flesh” and the suffix of Oma means tumor or cancer. About 12,000 annual cases of sarcoma appear in the United States making the odds of having sarcoma about 40 in 1 million. Although the chances are not as high as other cancers this disease can be deadly and difficult to treat depending on the patient.
sarcoma is a malignant tumor of tissue usually starting from bones or muscles. There are many other branches of disease under the title of sarcoma which have to do with cancerous cells spreading to not only just the bones and muscles but any connective tissue sarcoma is the cancer of the body's “building blocks”. Although this is a rare tumor it can spread cancer cells to different organs of the body.
One case is myosarcoma, which is the cancer of the muscle. Typically a patient with myosarcoma has a large mass. In this article there will be a primary focus on one hypothetical case.
Case study.
A elder patient in their 70s come with with a 23 cm mass on the right leg. The patent has difficulty standing without support on the right side and is in pain. Because the tumor is unfortunately so impressive after the CT scan it is concluded that surgery is not a safe or sustainable option. Due to the size of the mass that wraps around the leg, the major blood vessels and nerves have a high risk of damage that can far for dangerous for the patient. After more imaging, there is growing of abnormal mass (nodule) in the lungs proving that the cancer is spreading. As surgery is at a halt due to its risks, one of the next treatment options is radiation and possibly chemotherapy.
This case would be a primal example of myosarcoma. Sarcoma occurs due to a soft tissue dna mutation but most cases are acquired throughout one's life rather than being inherited. Like most cancer there is no solid reason why sarcoma apperers which is a primary reason why it has no cure rather treatment. The four common treatment options are as stated, surgery, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, and clinical trials. These masses in the soft tissue can spread, in the case the malignant tumor spreading to the lungs can affect the patient's respiratory system and can even spread throughout the body. This cancer is seen mostly by radiologists, who perform the imaging as well as internal hostitalist for inpatient care and the oncologists, cancer doctors who specialize in sarcoma.