Your limb or your life ?
Dr Richard Quek explains how to avoid amputation when treating bone cancer
In the middle of last year , Miss Z *, a sporty 18 year
old , was wheeled into my consultation room by her parents , fear and dread clearly etched across their faces . The lower part of her right thigh was tightly wrapped in a bandage where a biopsy had just been taken .
Miss Z had been diagnosed with osteosarcoma , a highly malignant form of bone cancer . Not only was she unfamiliar with her diagnosis , she was told an amputation may be required .
The diagnosis hit the patient and family hard ; it was completely unexpected .
A cancer diagnosis is devastating to anyone , particularly more so in a young , fit , active person with her whole life ahead of her . The options provided are equally bitter to swallow . In essence , it ’ s a cruel choice between one ’ s limb or one ’ s life , where the cure is as painful as the disease itself . How does anyone make such a decision ? Osteosarcoma is a rare cancer . Each year in Singapore we see about 10-15 new patients with osteosarcoma . Most of these patients are children , adolescents , or young adults between the ages of 10 to 30 . This cancer originates from bone , typically around the knee area . Patients present with pain , and over time , develop swelling .
Typically , the patient would complain of a persistent pain over the affected bone , associated with symptoms like rest pains and night pains . The patient may have consulted one or a few medical doctors
58 NOVEMBER 2020 GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com