From Knee Pain to Cancern

 In late March Nick came home from martial arts saying that he had hurt his knee during training. Over the next few weeks he would periodically mention that it was still hurting him but we assumed he had strained a muscle or ligament and would feel better soon. As April came and went it became clear that his knee pain was increasing.

We visited the pediatrician in early May and got a referral. As these things do, it took 3 weeks to finally get an appointment with an orthopedist for the last week in May.

Last Tuesday (5/28) we visited the orthopedist. After the physical exam the orthopedist thought the pain may be from a torn meniscus but he also sent Nick to get an x-ray. The x-ray showed inflammation around the patella, but also a blurry mass around the head of the femur. He ordered an MRI for further imaging.

On Thursday (5/30) I took Nick in for an MRI, still thinking we were looking at a tear. The MRI was at 3PM. By 4PM I had a phone call from the orthopedist telling me that Nick had a tumor on his femur. Next, UCSF called asking us to come in the following day for a biopsy.

Friday morning (5/31) Jeff, Nick and I headed to UCSF's orthopedic oncology center. The orthopedic oncologist showed us the MRI scans and the tumor was not only growing inside his femur but is also growing outside the femur as well. Although we still needed to biopsy she was confident that the tumor was cancerous.

Nick opted to have the biopsy done with local anesthetic. He bravely endured 6 piercings through his knee to collect tissue. After bringing the tissue to pathology the doctor confirmed our worst fears....it is cancer.

Although we know that it is a form of bone cancer, we do not know the specific type yet. The final pathology report will come back sometime this week. Nick will also have a PET scan this week to see if the cancer is localized or has spread.

Regardless of the type of bone cancer, the treatment will be as follows:

1) 9-12 weeks of inpatient chemotherapy at UCSF pediatric oncology in SF. Each round of chemo will require Nick to be in the hospital for 2-4 days.

2) Removal of a portion of his femur and a total knee replacement (happening in the fall)

3) Another 9-12 weeks of inpatient chemotherapy

Upon our initial consult the doctor told us Nick would not be able to finish his last week of school and will not be able to take his finals. He also let us know that Nick will not be able to participate in his senior year of high school in person.

As you can imagine, this has all been extremely shocking and distressing and it is all happening very quickly. Nick is handling this in his normal way--cracking jokes and being silly.

Our family is in for a challenging journey as we navigate this new reality. There is a lot we still do not know but we will update this site as soon as we do know.

We are grateful that we will be at one of the top cancer centers in the nation and for the love and support of our family and friends.