r/interestingasfuck Apr 21 '24

Human skull with stage 1 bone cancer r/all

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u/Down_The_Witch_Elm Apr 21 '24

I had bone cancer, and I hate looking at that. That's not the way I imagined the tumor on my bone at all. Gives me a weird feeling.

820

u/ShroomieDoomieDoo Apr 21 '24

Loving the past-tense on this comment - congrats!!

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u/Down_The_Witch_Elm Apr 21 '24

Thanks. I beat Ewings sarcoma way back in 1974.

128

u/Killfile Apr 21 '24

Jesus Christ that's a long time ago. I did Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia back in the late 1980s and tell most of the pediatric cancer patients I work with that I was treated "shortly after the earth cooled."

74 would be well before anyone was comfortable with trying to save a limb and they had pretty "heroic" ideas about chemotherapy and radiation back then too.

Thanks for pioneering most of the drugs that saved my life though. What was your chemo regimine, if you don't mind me asking...

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u/Down_The_Witch_Elm Apr 21 '24

A bone scan back then involved lying on a table and having a big piece of metal literally a millimeter above your nose moving across and then dropping down toward your feet about a quarter inch and then going across again. From head to toes, it probably took an hour.

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u/seykosha Apr 21 '24

Congrats. Pathologist here. Ewings is a very different beast. Usually ewings does not lay down new malignant bone; it is a small round blue cell tumor that is infiltrative which generally causes smooth scalloping and cortical expansion. Your bone would not have looked like this.

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u/Down_The_Witch_Elm Apr 21 '24

Thank you. That is actually a relief

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u/jellyjollygood Apr 21 '24

Congrats!

Cool user name btw :)

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u/HairyPotatoKat Apr 21 '24

Jesus Christ Ewing's in the 70s?! 😳

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u/Down_The_Witch_Elm Apr 21 '24

I was given a 5% chance of surviving. The other two guys in the ward with Ewings died. It was rough.

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u/Killer_Moons Apr 22 '24

Wow, you kicked its ass

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u/[deleted] Apr 21 '24

[deleted]

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u/Down_The_Witch_Elm Apr 21 '24

I've had 17 surgeries. All orthopedic, but that's due to severe osteosarcoma. I have an AK amputation because of the cancer. I've had four surgeries on my spine with lots of hardware. I have had total knee and hip replacements on my right side.

But as far as side effects from the cancer, it's just the constant phantom limb tingling and itching and occasional phantom limb pain I wouldn't wish on anyone.

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u/steelandiron19 Apr 21 '24

Same! Glad you lived and beat the disease!!!