Wife has "likey sarcoma" based on MRI

Hello,

My wife just recieved the MRI results on a lump on the front of her thigh that state it is a "likely sarcoma".  It is 20mm by 15mm or .8 inch by .6 inch.  She is scheduled to see a general surgeon on Monday for a biopsy or removal.

My question is whether or not it is okay to have general surgeon do a removal vs. an oncological surgeon.  It seems to me the general surgeon may not be as skilled with regards to knowing how much tissue to remove.  We are leaning towards just having a biopsy done.

Any advice on this or other thoughts would be very much appreciated.  I am hoping and praying the MRI got this one wrong.

Good Luck and Happy New Year to everyone on this board.

John

 

On 12/30/2008 Lookingforanswers wrote:

Hello,

My wife just recieved the MRI results on a lump on the front of her thigh that state it is a "likely sarcoma".  It is 20mm by 15mm or .8 inch by .6 inch.  She is scheduled to see a general surgeon on Monday for a biopsy or removal.

My question is whether or not it is okay to have general surgeon do a removal vs. an oncological surgeon.  It seems to me the general surgeon may not be as skilled with regards to knowing how much tissue to remove.  We are leaning towards just having a biopsy done.

Any advice on this or other thoughts would be very much appreciated.  I am hoping and praying the MRI got this one wrong.

Good Luck and Happy New Year to everyone on this board.

John

Hi John 

Happy New Year to you too and Lots of Good Luck to your wife.

This is just my humble opinion but after going through Nasophyrangeal Cancer(sinus cavity) with my husband almost five years ago I think I would go with the oncological surgeon and one that has done many of these surgeries and biopsies. He will most likely know more than a general surgeon when he takes the lump out exactly what it is and then quickly what the next step will be. I'm sure he will send it for testing but in general they already pretty much know what they are dealing with when they are experienced in doing this all the time. I say this because we had the very best Oncology and Radiology Docs here in Connecticut and New York, It made things so much easier to have all the knowledge we needed to proceed to the next step in one place especially at a time of such turmoil in your mind. Anyway this is just my opinion and thank God My husband is considered pretty much cured. It that lump is cancerous and its contained, the same will happen with your wife. With the proper care and the right Doctors she will recover nicely. i'll pray for that. 

 Denise

 

 

Thank you Denise - for both the advice and prayers.

John

 

On 12/31/2008 Lookingforanswers wrote:

Thank you Denise - for both the advice and prayers.

John

 

You are more than welcome John. Keep me posted if you like. God Bless the both of you.

 

On 12/30/2008 Lookingforanswers wrote:

Hello,

My wife just recieved the MRI results on a lump on the front of her thigh that state it is a "likely sarcoma".  It is 20mm by 15mm or .8 inch by .6 inch.  She is scheduled to see a general surgeon on Monday for a biopsy or removal.

My question is whether or not it is okay to have general surgeon do a removal vs. an oncological surgeon.  It seems to me the general surgeon may not be as skilled with regards to knowing how much tissue to remove.  We are leaning towards just having a biopsy done.

Any advice on this or other thoughts would be very much appreciated.  I am hoping and praying the MRI got this one wrong.

Good Luck and Happy New Year to everyone on this board.

John

John - I had an Orthopedic surgeon who specialized in Sarcoma at the Sarcoma Institute.   He was WONDERFUL!   He would not do a biopsy on me (my tumor was in my femur above my knee) because he said dragging the needle through good tissue would likely spread the cancer cells.  I would, however, do what your doctor(s) recommend.  You both will be in my prayers as well as your doctors to have the knowledge to make the right choice.   God bless,  Tara

 

John, please get your wife to a surgical oncologist at a great institution. My husband had a 10 lb liposarcoma and needle biopsy was performed by radiologist (many attempts and needle kept breaking because he was going into dead tissue--think it seeded)anyway, we ended up in New York with world reknown sarcoma surgeon and he said he would not have done biopsy due to the fact of seeding and it had to come out anyway. You want sarcoma oncologist, sarcoma surgeon and sarcoma radiologist who all work as team. Before the biopsy, the CT scan done suggested it looked to be a liposarcoma. We were so anxious to see if that was what it was that we had biopsy done. We made a phone call to NY Memorial Sloan Kettering and had surgery within 1 week. Hang in there but you need sarcoma facts before biospy. Good luck!

 

On 12/30/2008 Lookingforanswers wrote:

Hello,

My wife just recieved the MRI results on a lump on the front of her thigh that state it is a "likely sarcoma".  It is 20mm by 15mm or .8 inch by .6 inch.  She is scheduled to see a general surgeon on Monday for a biopsy or removal.

My question is whether or not it is okay to have general surgeon do a removal vs. an oncological surgeon.  It seems to me the general surgeon may not be as skilled with regards to knowing how much tissue to remove.  We are leaning towards just having a biopsy done.

Any advice on this or other thoughts would be very much appreciated.  I am hoping and praying the MRI got this one wrong.

Good Luck and Happy New Year to everyone on this board.

John

 

John, I too had sinus cancer - mine was two years ago. I would also recommend the Oncologist.   I still have to see mine once a month, but am considered cured. The specialist are the best and the most knowlegeable to handle any situation.  I wish the best for the year and hope 2009 turns out to be a benign year for your family!

Thanks everyone for your replies and advice.  We are planning on sending her MRI results to a sarcoma center in Seattle and go from there.

Happy New Year.

John

Hi John!

My 35 yr old son is battling Ewing's Sarcoma.  His spinal tumor (we thought there was only one at the time, but there were several) was removed by a general surgeon.  He thought that it was a benign meningeoma...it wasn't.  Instead of stopping the surgery and asking an oncology surgeon for an opinion, he removed the mass and sent it for testing.  He did not push for a quick diagnosis.  He just kept telling us that no news was good news. During this period he ran no further tests.  3 1/2 weeks later he contacted an oncologist to give us the bad news.  The oncologist was an breast cancer doctor.  He had no idea what he was dealing with.  My son was still walking at that time.  Long story short, my son ended up paralyzed from the chest down.  3 1/2 weeks were wasted when he could have been in treatment.  Thanks to a good friend's advice (to whom we will be forever grateful) my son and his wife left that same night for Sloan-Kettering in New York.  They are amazing!  They reran all of the tests, got a team together, a plan together, and started chemo the next day. 

 My advice to you is run, run, run to a sarcoma specialist.  Anywhere else is a waste of precious time.  Good luck to your wife.  She is in my prayers. 

Mom Windy

 

On 12/30/2008 Lookingforanswers wrote:

Hello,

My wife just recieved the MRI results on a lump on the front of her thigh that state it is a "likely sarcoma".  It is 20mm by 15mm or .8 inch by .6 inch.  She is scheduled to see a general surgeon on Monday for a biopsy or removal.

My question is whether or not it is okay to have general surgeon do a removal vs. an oncological surgeon.  It seems to me the general surgeon may not be as skilled with regards to knowing how much tissue to remove.  We are leaning towards just having a biopsy done.

Any advice on this or other thoughts would be very much appreciated.  I am hoping and praying the MRI got this one wrong.

Good Luck and Happy New Year to everyone on this board.

John