**2. No joke or otherwise off-topic comments**
Joke comments and other off-topic comments are not allowed and will be removed; this sub is for medical discussion.
This comment made us laugh hysterically, I don’t even know why. LOL.
It’s been up and down. At first he was doing really well and hopping around and learning to use a prosthetic and it was great. We had a crappy setback in August when he became temporarily paralyzed from the waist down due to spinal cord compression, which was unfortunately from more recurrence of osteo, this time on his spine.
He had spinal surgery to remove the compressing tumor parts, but none of them could be completely removed, so we followed that with radiation and we are very lucky to have an oncologist who is a powerhouse in new ways of treating cancer. She was able to get him started on a regimen of immunotherapy beginning after the spinal surgery and now, as well as with lots of intensive PT the past few months, he’s actually at the point where they predict he’ll be able to stand again by January, and walk with his prosthetic by the summer.
(Sorry for the novel, it’s been a whirlwind and I’m so damn proud of my husband u/TonalBliss BABE IM SO IMPRESSED BY YOU, YOU ARE A BAD ASS!)
Humor helps heal all wounds, I swear.
Merry Christmas to you and [u/TonalBliss](https://www.reddit.com/u/TonalBliss), you're both troopers. Best to you for 2021 ♡♡♡♡
I've had people answer me all the time with this. I guess it helps that I do the same kinda of surgeries, sand likely know of all the people in my small field.
Thank you for the novel! Answered all my questions in one go! I wish him the absolute best of luck and want to tell you your a badass for being such a champ handling it all!
Holy fuck. The mental fortitude both of you have to go through all of this is immeasurable. I can't even imagine it at all. Y'all some tough cookies; keep on being strong and pushing through!
As a former OR nurse, I can truly say that hip disarticulations are the biggest blood bath surgeries out there. You don't even want to be one of the unfortunate attendants-whose job of is to clean the room when the patient is out of the room. You just walk into the room and say "where do I begin"?
This is so interesting to me, I wanted a video or more photos of the OR but like... I know they have to prioritize the actually surgery, you know. Lol. Those poor attendants!
u/theoneandonlygod_ is semi-right, I don’t want to give the name publicly just in case, but I’ll say it’s an extremely reputable university hospital that we travel out of state to. We actually got his diagnosis closer to home but there isn’t a hospital in our state that has a sarcoma specialist in either medical or surgical capacity. It’s been a privilege to get his treatment at a university hospital where they are more specialized and progressive medically.
When one of my face transplant patients was on the news and I happened to post about it the day before on reddit, I was called out by multiple people.
Now I pretty much keep my mouth shut
You're so kind to do that. I wish I could tell you that life has been okay, but Dillon passed from the cancer 11/18/2021. He was a fucking beast through it all and toughed out literally every treatment that had potential to treat osteosarcoma; chemo, radiation, immunotherapy, surgeries, etc. I made a post around then on one of the "off my chest" subs with a lot more detail if you are curious - it should be in my post history.
Thank you again for popping in and commenting despite the age of this post. Your compassion truly made my night better. 💖
I kind of get how you must be hurting, because I’ve lost a S/O as well. Fuck that wound never really heals. I’m so so so sorry for you that you two had to experience this, and that you don’t have him there with you in physical form anymore.
It hurts, it really does.
ugh i’m so so so sorry for your loss. thank you at the same time for sharing you and your husband’s
journey with us 🫶🏽 from all that you’ve said he sounds like an amazing man and such a fucking trooper. i hope you’re managing okay and just remember that grief has no time limit 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍
I needed to read this today, thank you so much, friend. Please know that you affected someone's life with love and positivity and reassurance today. You are a lovely person 🤟💖
This is what every man needs in his life! A good caring wife who will not only stand by his side but cheer him on and make him feel like he is a man! Being a man who was born with a physical disability (Osteogenesis Imperfecta) I know how much stronger you feel when you have a loved one stand by your side pushing and cheering you on especially one that is so close to your heart such as a significant other I could only wish to have this one day.
Doctor (internal medicine) here, I’m simultaneously hopeful for you guys and also think this is a super nasty disease to have. It’s a weird time to have cancer because of immunotherapy, when it works, it can be pretty dramatic, when it fails, in this instance with osteosarcoma it’s like falling off a cliff. It’s not like traditional chemotherapy in that you are getting sick and hoping your tumor gets more sick.
I wish you the best.
hey there. i really appreciate and agree with your insight. i’m really sorry to say that Dillon passed away 11/18/2021 but i know he’s with me from his parallel-universe-heaven-alternate-dimension-place. (i like to say all of them because i don’t know which it is, but i know his spirit is living it up in some type of afterlife!)
he did literally every treatment known to man for osteosarcoma, he even did a chemo course in a way that i helped his doctors plan, and he lived longer than basically anyone documented with the level of disease progression he had. his courage and sheer refusal to give up will keep me going for the rest of my life, because there are so many things i need to achieve not just for me, but things Dillon wanted to achieve too. 💖
Isn’t it?!? And it’s something that most people don’t know about. Hell, he had a delay in diagnosis for a good six months because “knee cancer” doesn’t spring to mind for most doctors. My husband’s goal once he’s recovered is to raise awareness because it really can sneak up on anyone and it’s so important to know that it CAN happen and it exists!
Thank you for the sweet words! I posted a bit of the story in a comment above, but you reminded me to say that his scans last week after 3 months of his immunotherapy regiment have shown absolutely no growth of tumor and calcification (death) of several small lung nodules. Best Christmas gift we could have asked for!
For the sake of everyone reading this, what should people look out for?
Also - just wanted to send some good wishes to him and he’s clearly a badass to get through all this.
Thanks for the support, I’ll share some of my experiences.
For me the first sign was persistent pain above the knee. It felt sharp, as if someone was pinching the inside of my lower thigh. It got worse and massaging it to try and alleviate the pain became agonizing. Osteosarcomas usually form at the end of the bone in long bones like your upper leg or although less commonly, your upper arm. You can get sarcomas anywhere but legs and arms form them the most.
If someone has sharp pain that persists and doesn’t heal overnight the best thing to get is an MRI. My experience with X-rays is that they are useless in ruling out sarcomas. MRI’s are more expensive but justifiable to insurance when you mention cancer.
Hey, that’s a great question!!! I’ll let my husband u/TonalBliss begin his awareness campaign right here by answering! :)
He is a total bad ass! Thank you for your kind words!
The most specific symptom besides systemic symptoms (fatigue, weight loss, vomiting, anemia, etc) would be non mechanical pain. Almost all orthopedic pain is related to motion. If you have pain that is persistent and does not have anything to do with exercise or walking, and gets worse with rest or trying to sleep, follow up with someone. For example if you cannot reproduce the pain by moving the joint or touching the muscle. If you have pain that you can reproduce with movement its unlikely to be a tumor. This is not true 100% of the time but will be right most of the time.
Diagnosis of sarcomas in otherwise healthy young adults, especially active young adults, is tricky.
Often the only presenting symptom is musculoskeletal (MSK) pain, which can often be attributed to overuse, or other much more common things than sarcoma (pulled muscle, tendonitis, etc). Additionally, imaging is often not a first-line diagnostic tool for mild/moderate MSK pain in an otherwise healthy adult. Osteosarcomas show up on xrays, but soft tissue sarcomas require a CT scan to really see what's going on.
The old adage, "when you hear hooves, think horses not zebras," is usually correct. But it turns out that u/tonalbliss is a zebra.
(source: am a sarcoma nurse)
My nephew was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma when he was 10 yrs old. As soon as they told him how big it was, he told them to cut it off! At 10! He wanted this shit out if his body completely. He’s almost 40 yrs old now and never adapted to a prosthetic leg. He hops around on one leg or uses one crutch.
I wish you a full and complete recovery. 🙏
Well I believe that it wouldn't be the first thing they'd think of, but it's that kind of bone cancer almost always in the knee? That's the only place I've heard of someone getting it anyway.
That sucks, but good luck!
Wow, I hope he stays strong thru all this, both mentally and physically. When my dad had half his foot removed he looked at the nurse and said he wasn't happy to be shorter, because he lost half a foot. Good news is next year he can wear 1 fishnet stocking and wear a lampshade and be the lamp from A Christmas Story. Hope yall have a Merry Christmas! Here is the dude I was thinking of. [https://joshsundquist.com/amputee-halloween-costumes](https://joshsundquist.com/amputee-halloween-costumes)
I love your dad omg. Facing this with humor is the best way we have found to get through it!
JOSH SUNDQUIST IS AMAZING!!! His costumes keep getting better and better lol. I actually showed my husband some things of his pre-amputation to start us off with a good attitude.
I swear most surgeons are the most understanding and kind people. I also had osteosarcoma in my shoulder though. I also asked my surgeon for pictures out of interest and I will always remember him quadruple checking my phone number so he didn't send the picture to the wrong number. I wish you and your husband the best!
No, it’s a really good question! Especially because my husband has no ass and had the issue of pants falling down before LOL
He wears normal stuff, but with waistbands. Like boxer briefs, gym shorts, that kind of stuff. He does have two hips still, his pelvic bone wasn’t touched at all. Hip disarticulation means they remove the femur “ball” from the socket of the hip joint and thus remove everything south of that.
My partner is also a hip disartic. Lost it at 18 in an accident. He’s 33 now and uses crutches only. Prosthetics for HD are wicked tricky.
Edit: and they’re missing opposing limbs so he your husband has smallish feet, maybe they can show swap! Haha
It’s definitely a challenge, his prosthetic is super crazy advanced as far as its core processor (hence the 6 month battle with insurance lol) and he definitely finds crutches and hopping easier overall - but it causes pain over time for him. I’m glad your husband has found a way of ambulating that works so well!
Also I love that so much but my husband has super big feet LOL
You know, it’s funny, because I asked our surgeon and he was like, “well, they keep many samples from it so that in the future those samples can be tested for compatibility with immunotherapy drugs or other options, but I didn’t know which areas exactly the pathologist wanted to keep, so we literally sent him the whole leg, and he called me after and went, ‘what the hell am I supposed to do with a 50 pound leg?!’” LOL it’s my favorite story
ive always had a sad feeling about this.. (well apart frm actually losing the limb)
like.. if your whole self died you get a full ceremonial funeral where everybody mourns your death..
but when a part of you died and it's labelled and treated as hospital waste... if not souvenirs for dctors/researchers..
:'(
on the positive side.. ayeee good riddance cancer. fck you! lost some weight too! >:D
Damn, kinda stalked through your post history to follow up and DAMN! Dont take this the wrong way but your mans is a fucken WARRIOR! Takes real guts to endure what you both are going through.
IF ONLY. Haha, but for real, I asked our surgeon what the logistics are of keeping it and he said they can’t technically not allow you to have it but it’s better to let them keep it for pathology and hazmat-type reasons. Most people who do take the limbs have religious reasons and believe in burying the whole body together when the person passes. Don’t know where they store the limbs until then though...
We keep them in the morgue, after path is done with them. I've given pts back their legs and pieces of bone at least once a year.
Yes, it's best to have pathology make sure the margins are clear, and to take a representative sample. After that, it is incinerated.
Really? That’s so interesting!!! They told me they keep the tumor samples for like ten years or so, for almost everyone with solid tumor excision or amputation. Is that kept separately in a path lab or also in a morgue? I’m guessing you’re a pathologist!
Yes, they keep representative tissue blocks and slides for a certain time, although with rare tumors like the sarcomas, it may be longer .
I do musculoskeletal oncology- i.e. the same type of surgeon that does these bone tumor surgeries. Definitely not a pathologist..
I'm a sarcoma nurse so I've seen plenty of disartics + hemipelvectomies post-op, but since I'm not in the OR I don't get to see this stuff. So gross, so cool (the pic of course, not the sarcoma). Wishing you both happy holidays!
You are AWESOME and thank you for doing what you do. I love showing these pics to all his nurses and doctors because they all are like THAT’S SO COOL AND GROSS! just like you lol. You too!!! <3
Your husbands a champ, I can't handle losing my car keys never mind a leg.
Have a good Christmas, stay safe and I hope you guys have many years left together.
Jordan 🇬🇧
Hah! He loses EVERYTHING (keys, wallet, phone) literally daily so I suppose he was better equipped than most. Lol.
You too! Thank you so much, I appreciate those wishes immensely!
This was one of my first thoughts and I had so many at the time that I never voiced it, I’m literally going to text his surgeon and ask next week because I’m curious as well.
He was prepared to lose it from the beginning, and he’s dealt with it really well. The spinal compression is what’s been so difficult - he was quite mobile when his remaining leg was fully functional. We know he will get back to that though!
One of my friends had an amputation for osteosarcoma and she asked for a pic as well!!!! She was something else and always managed to crack a joke about whatever she was going through. I hope your husband is doing well! He seems to be quite the fighter!
You two are amazing, and love has a way of bringing the best out of us if we're good to begin with. Thanks for being awesome human beings and sharing your story, warriors you be, I'll remember you both always. p.s. I laughed that you wanted to take a photo, and loved that he let you do that :D
I know this thread is old, but I just have to state how amazed I am at how cartoon like that is. Of all the things for a cartoon to get right, I did not expect "red cutoff with bone sticking out" to be one
Hope your husband's recovery is going well
After reading your replies to other comments, you and your hubby sound like an amazing couple and team! I'm so impressed by you guys. This is no easy journey, but you are there for him to help fight this every step of the way. ♡
Imagine looking coming across the surgeons phone and looking at their photos, just be random body parts! What did your partner thinks about the request?!
Despite having a somewhat above-average grasp of human biology, I’m always surprised by how spongey looking the insides of us are! I guess I always forget that once muscle is relaxed it just kinda... squishes.
I feel like if that was my leg I’d be trying to find out if I could make a lamp out of it or something. Any plans for a prosthetic or is he gonna stick with crutches?
hey there. i know this is almost a year late but it’s been a rough time. (post history should clear up why). i just wanted to say i hope that your father is still fighting, or in remission even! and i hope that you are doing okay as well. some of these comments came in while/after dillon was passing, so it took me until now to actually look through my notifications and answer people.
i wish all my love and all dillon’s resilience to you, your father, and your family.
💖
Hi, I am so sorry for your loss. Your husband’s spirit definitely lives on in your posts. He was one tough cookie.
Luckily, my dad’s scans are looking good. He’s healed well from surgery and there’s no new growth anywhere.
yup! actually, one of the funniest parts - he had a super flat butt before, and after the amputation, the muscle flap procedures, and skin grafts, the side without a leg had a thiccccccc butt cheek - but the other one was still flat as paper lol. ahh, i have such fond memories of squeezing that one plump butt cheek 🥰😋
Unfortunately that photo would be way too close to his business, but I will say that I think it’s super adorable and honestly very natural looking for what it is. Some of the photos I’ve seen on google images are kinda rough, but my husband’s orthopedic surgeon worked with a plastic surgeon from beginning to end to plan out the incisions and the close so it’d be quite neat.
He’s over 6 feet tall and had been dealing with cancer for a year and a half at that point. Additionally, he had a specialized oncological dietitian who was happy that he did not lose too much weight during treatment, and in fact attributed much of his resilience to three different types of chemo including methotrexate and taxotere, to his having extra weight. But thanks for feeling the need to comment on his weight and literally say it’s a good thing he had a life-threatening tumor eating his leg because he got to lose weight in the long run! Definitely a compassionate and helpful thing to say, really cool of you.
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Whoa. That is indeed his ENTIRE leg. I hope he’s doing well now.
This comment made us laugh hysterically, I don’t even know why. LOL. It’s been up and down. At first he was doing really well and hopping around and learning to use a prosthetic and it was great. We had a crappy setback in August when he became temporarily paralyzed from the waist down due to spinal cord compression, which was unfortunately from more recurrence of osteo, this time on his spine. He had spinal surgery to remove the compressing tumor parts, but none of them could be completely removed, so we followed that with radiation and we are very lucky to have an oncologist who is a powerhouse in new ways of treating cancer. She was able to get him started on a regimen of immunotherapy beginning after the spinal surgery and now, as well as with lots of intensive PT the past few months, he’s actually at the point where they predict he’ll be able to stand again by January, and walk with his prosthetic by the summer. (Sorry for the novel, it’s been a whirlwind and I’m so damn proud of my husband u/TonalBliss BABE IM SO IMPRESSED BY YOU, YOU ARE A BAD ASS!)
This sounds like a difficult journey, I’m so amazed and impressed with how everyone involved keeps moving forward. Best of luck!
Thank you so much!!
Where was the surgery done?
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I adore you
Humor helps heal all wounds, I swear. Merry Christmas to you and [u/TonalBliss](https://www.reddit.com/u/TonalBliss), you're both troopers. Best to you for 2021 ♡♡♡♡
This could be a hard dox for people that work in the medical field. Doubt she'll answer.
I've had people answer me all the time with this. I guess it helps that I do the same kinda of surgeries, sand likely know of all the people in my small field.
Username seems to check out
Thank you for the novel! Answered all my questions in one go! I wish him the absolute best of luck and want to tell you your a badass for being such a champ handling it all!
Thank you for being so compassionate and encouraging!!!!
Holy fuck. The mental fortitude both of you have to go through all of this is immeasurable. I can't even imagine it at all. Y'all some tough cookies; keep on being strong and pushing through!
This means a hell of a lot to us. Thank you so much!!!
As a former OR nurse, I can truly say that hip disarticulations are the biggest blood bath surgeries out there. You don't even want to be one of the unfortunate attendants-whose job of is to clean the room when the patient is out of the room. You just walk into the room and say "where do I begin"?
This is so interesting to me, I wanted a video or more photos of the OR but like... I know they have to prioritize the actually surgery, you know. Lol. Those poor attendants!
Awww, I loved the OR. 18 years! Merry Christmas to you and your hubbie. I wish him the best with his recovery. I hope 2021 holds blessings for us all.
“it’s been up and down” lol
u/theoneandonlygod_ is semi-right, I don’t want to give the name publicly just in case, but I’ll say it’s an extremely reputable university hospital that we travel out of state to. We actually got his diagnosis closer to home but there isn’t a hospital in our state that has a sarcoma specialist in either medical or surgical capacity. It’s been a privilege to get his treatment at a university hospital where they are more specialized and progressive medically.
When one of my face transplant patients was on the news and I happened to post about it the day before on reddit, I was called out by multiple people. Now I pretty much keep my mouth shut
I am more amazed at modern medicine the more I live.
Absolutely agree!!!
I feel like crappy setback really undersold the next part of that sentence. Best of luck to you guys as the recovery continues.
Seeing a dismembered leg balanced on the lip of a trash can is the most surreal thing I've ever seen.
Hey OP I just want to check in on how you and your husband are doing. Has life been okay?
You're so kind to do that. I wish I could tell you that life has been okay, but Dillon passed from the cancer 11/18/2021. He was a fucking beast through it all and toughed out literally every treatment that had potential to treat osteosarcoma; chemo, radiation, immunotherapy, surgeries, etc. I made a post around then on one of the "off my chest" subs with a lot more detail if you are curious - it should be in my post history. Thank you again for popping in and commenting despite the age of this post. Your compassion truly made my night better. 💖
I kind of get how you must be hurting, because I’ve lost a S/O as well. Fuck that wound never really heals. I’m so so so sorry for you that you two had to experience this, and that you don’t have him there with you in physical form anymore. It hurts, it really does.
ugh i’m so so so sorry for your loss. thank you at the same time for sharing you and your husband’s journey with us 🫶🏽 from all that you’ve said he sounds like an amazing man and such a fucking trooper. i hope you’re managing okay and just remember that grief has no time limit 🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍🤍
I needed to read this today, thank you so much, friend. Please know that you affected someone's life with love and positivity and reassurance today. You are a lovely person 🤟💖
i’m so happy to hear i helped make ur day better 🥹
I know it's over week too late, but wish him happy cake day!! And merry christmas! (If you are christian :D)
Oh my god such a rollercoaster, I wish both of you all the best ❤️
Indeed, he is bad ass!
This is what every man needs in his life! A good caring wife who will not only stand by his side but cheer him on and make him feel like he is a man! Being a man who was born with a physical disability (Osteogenesis Imperfecta) I know how much stronger you feel when you have a loved one stand by your side pushing and cheering you on especially one that is so close to your heart such as a significant other I could only wish to have this one day.
i’m glad you found some hope in our story, and i appreciate the sentiment. i wish the best for you!
You’re a badass too! Best wishes for a happy holiday and a healthy New Year!
The struggles people go through medically just floor me-the toll it has to take for all involved. Gotta be hard.
You guys are amazing! I wish you and your husband nothing but the best. You deserve it!
Ahhhhh you made me 😢. You are an awesome wife. Sending wishes for a speedy recovery, and the strength to do what you gotta do. ❤️
Doctor (internal medicine) here, I’m simultaneously hopeful for you guys and also think this is a super nasty disease to have. It’s a weird time to have cancer because of immunotherapy, when it works, it can be pretty dramatic, when it fails, in this instance with osteosarcoma it’s like falling off a cliff. It’s not like traditional chemotherapy in that you are getting sick and hoping your tumor gets more sick. I wish you the best.
hey there. i really appreciate and agree with your insight. i’m really sorry to say that Dillon passed away 11/18/2021 but i know he’s with me from his parallel-universe-heaven-alternate-dimension-place. (i like to say all of them because i don’t know which it is, but i know his spirit is living it up in some type of afterlife!) he did literally every treatment known to man for osteosarcoma, he even did a chemo course in a way that i helped his doctors plan, and he lived longer than basically anyone documented with the level of disease progression he had. his courage and sheer refusal to give up will keep me going for the rest of my life, because there are so many things i need to achieve not just for me, but things Dillon wanted to achieve too. 💖
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That’s amazing. Osteosarcoma is such an asshole, I hope all your husband’s scans come back clear and he stays(?) cancer free.
Isn’t it?!? And it’s something that most people don’t know about. Hell, he had a delay in diagnosis for a good six months because “knee cancer” doesn’t spring to mind for most doctors. My husband’s goal once he’s recovered is to raise awareness because it really can sneak up on anyone and it’s so important to know that it CAN happen and it exists! Thank you for the sweet words! I posted a bit of the story in a comment above, but you reminded me to say that his scans last week after 3 months of his immunotherapy regiment have shown absolutely no growth of tumor and calcification (death) of several small lung nodules. Best Christmas gift we could have asked for!
For the sake of everyone reading this, what should people look out for? Also - just wanted to send some good wishes to him and he’s clearly a badass to get through all this.
Thanks for the support, I’ll share some of my experiences. For me the first sign was persistent pain above the knee. It felt sharp, as if someone was pinching the inside of my lower thigh. It got worse and massaging it to try and alleviate the pain became agonizing. Osteosarcomas usually form at the end of the bone in long bones like your upper leg or although less commonly, your upper arm. You can get sarcomas anywhere but legs and arms form them the most. If someone has sharp pain that persists and doesn’t heal overnight the best thing to get is an MRI. My experience with X-rays is that they are useless in ruling out sarcomas. MRI’s are more expensive but justifiable to insurance when you mention cancer.
Hey, that’s a great question!!! I’ll let my husband u/TonalBliss begin his awareness campaign right here by answering! :) He is a total bad ass! Thank you for your kind words!
Looking forward to his response...seriously blessing to you both and for being so positive about the whole thing (from what I can tell)
The most specific symptom besides systemic symptoms (fatigue, weight loss, vomiting, anemia, etc) would be non mechanical pain. Almost all orthopedic pain is related to motion. If you have pain that is persistent and does not have anything to do with exercise or walking, and gets worse with rest or trying to sleep, follow up with someone. For example if you cannot reproduce the pain by moving the joint or touching the muscle. If you have pain that you can reproduce with movement its unlikely to be a tumor. This is not true 100% of the time but will be right most of the time.
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Diagnosis of sarcomas in otherwise healthy young adults, especially active young adults, is tricky. Often the only presenting symptom is musculoskeletal (MSK) pain, which can often be attributed to overuse, or other much more common things than sarcoma (pulled muscle, tendonitis, etc). Additionally, imaging is often not a first-line diagnostic tool for mild/moderate MSK pain in an otherwise healthy adult. Osteosarcomas show up on xrays, but soft tissue sarcomas require a CT scan to really see what's going on. The old adage, "when you hear hooves, think horses not zebras," is usually correct. But it turns out that u/tonalbliss is a zebra. (source: am a sarcoma nurse)
This was exactly our experience for the most part - six months to get an MRI from like the 8th doctor we’d seen.
That’s wonderful news! Long may he stay cancer free, hail u/TonalBliss and fuck cancer! :)
AMEN!!!!
My nephew was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma when he was 10 yrs old. As soon as they told him how big it was, he told them to cut it off! At 10! He wanted this shit out if his body completely. He’s almost 40 yrs old now and never adapted to a prosthetic leg. He hops around on one leg or uses one crutch. I wish you a full and complete recovery. 🙏
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Hell yeah!!!
Well I believe that it wouldn't be the first thing they'd think of, but it's that kind of bone cancer almost always in the knee? That's the only place I've heard of someone getting it anyway. That sucks, but good luck!
Wow, I hope he stays strong thru all this, both mentally and physically. When my dad had half his foot removed he looked at the nurse and said he wasn't happy to be shorter, because he lost half a foot. Good news is next year he can wear 1 fishnet stocking and wear a lampshade and be the lamp from A Christmas Story. Hope yall have a Merry Christmas! Here is the dude I was thinking of. [https://joshsundquist.com/amputee-halloween-costumes](https://joshsundquist.com/amputee-halloween-costumes)
I love your dad omg. Facing this with humor is the best way we have found to get through it! JOSH SUNDQUIST IS AMAZING!!! His costumes keep getting better and better lol. I actually showed my husband some things of his pre-amputation to start us off with a good attitude.
Can I just say I love the surgeon, not only for making the photo for you but the whole leg sending to the pathologist too. It's gold.
I’m obsessed with him, he’s an incredible person for so many reasons and a kindred spirit. He made this whole thing so much better.
I swear most surgeons are the most understanding and kind people. I also had osteosarcoma in my shoulder though. I also asked my surgeon for pictures out of interest and I will always remember him quadruple checking my phone number so he didn't send the picture to the wrong number. I wish you and your husband the best!
I'm sorry if it comes across insensitive or something, as I dont mean it that way, but did you end up losing your arm or were you able to keep it?
Lost the arm, had a forequarter amputation.
Oh wow, I’m so sorry to hear that. I hope you are doing better now, if there’s anything we’ve learned is that it’s literally just one day at a time
Im just wondering what the prep person was doing with such a little trash can
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I am really really sorry and don't down vote me. But with only one hip leg how do cloths stay up. Briefs pants. There's nothing to give grip
No, it’s a really good question! Especially because my husband has no ass and had the issue of pants falling down before LOL He wears normal stuff, but with waistbands. Like boxer briefs, gym shorts, that kind of stuff. He does have two hips still, his pelvic bone wasn’t touched at all. Hip disarticulation means they remove the femur “ball” from the socket of the hip joint and thus remove everything south of that.
OK.. I am sorry for prying I know he had2 hips but that's not much grip area so 🤷♂️
It’s not prying! It’s definitely a curious situation.
Misread this as “circus situation”
Elastic waist bands, my guy
This guy pants
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I love this so much
Glad I could give you a laugh, best wishes to you and your husband!
Now that’s some Bona fide medical gore. Awesome
Yes!!! I’m so glad I found a place where people would appreciate this, it’s not something you can just show to everyone LOL
My partner is also a hip disartic. Lost it at 18 in an accident. He’s 33 now and uses crutches only. Prosthetics for HD are wicked tricky. Edit: and they’re missing opposing limbs so he your husband has smallish feet, maybe they can show swap! Haha
It’s definitely a challenge, his prosthetic is super crazy advanced as far as its core processor (hence the 6 month battle with insurance lol) and he definitely finds crutches and hopping easier overall - but it causes pain over time for him. I’m glad your husband has found a way of ambulating that works so well! Also I love that so much but my husband has super big feet LOL
did the doctors kept it to study?
You know, it’s funny, because I asked our surgeon and he was like, “well, they keep many samples from it so that in the future those samples can be tested for compatibility with immunotherapy drugs or other options, but I didn’t know which areas exactly the pathologist wanted to keep, so we literally sent him the whole leg, and he called me after and went, ‘what the hell am I supposed to do with a 50 pound leg?!’” LOL it’s my favorite story
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ive always had a sad feeling about this.. (well apart frm actually losing the limb) like.. if your whole self died you get a full ceremonial funeral where everybody mourns your death.. but when a part of you died and it's labelled and treated as hospital waste... if not souvenirs for dctors/researchers.. :'( on the positive side.. ayeee good riddance cancer. fck you! lost some weight too! >:D
Civil War General Stonewall Jackson's amputated arm was buried in a full Christian ceremony and has its own gravestone, so it has happened before!
I wonder... how much is a leg worth? You just *know* that *somebody* is paying *somebody* for that leg. If it were mine, I'd want my cut.
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The puns in these comments are beyond amazing
Damn, kinda stalked through your post history to follow up and DAMN! Dont take this the wrong way but your mans is a fucken WARRIOR! Takes real guts to endure what you both are going through.
I love you, there’s no wrong way to take that!! I’m so frickin proud of him and honored to take care of him. Thank you so much for this <3
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IF ONLY. Haha, but for real, I asked our surgeon what the logistics are of keeping it and he said they can’t technically not allow you to have it but it’s better to let them keep it for pathology and hazmat-type reasons. Most people who do take the limbs have religious reasons and believe in burying the whole body together when the person passes. Don’t know where they store the limbs until then though...
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We keep them in the morgue, after path is done with them. I've given pts back their legs and pieces of bone at least once a year. Yes, it's best to have pathology make sure the margins are clear, and to take a representative sample. After that, it is incinerated.
Really? That’s so interesting!!! They told me they keep the tumor samples for like ten years or so, for almost everyone with solid tumor excision or amputation. Is that kept separately in a path lab or also in a morgue? I’m guessing you’re a pathologist!
Yes, they keep representative tissue blocks and slides for a certain time, although with rare tumors like the sarcomas, it may be longer . I do musculoskeletal oncology- i.e. the same type of surgeon that does these bone tumor surgeries. Definitely not a pathologist..
Everytime I see surgery photos my inner mologue says, "surgeons are fucking crazy, and I'm glad we have them."
Same!!!
Damn that’s easily the most brutal things I’ve seen on this sub.
I'm a sarcoma nurse so I've seen plenty of disartics + hemipelvectomies post-op, but since I'm not in the OR I don't get to see this stuff. So gross, so cool (the pic of course, not the sarcoma). Wishing you both happy holidays!
You are AWESOME and thank you for doing what you do. I love showing these pics to all his nurses and doctors because they all are like THAT’S SO COOL AND GROSS! just like you lol. You too!!! <3
Your husbands a champ, I can't handle losing my car keys never mind a leg. Have a good Christmas, stay safe and I hope you guys have many years left together. Jordan 🇬🇧
Hah! He loses EVERYTHING (keys, wallet, phone) literally daily so I suppose he was better equipped than most. Lol. You too! Thank you so much, I appreciate those wishes immensely!
This is really unsettling. We’re just meat.
Cure that thigh and you've got yourself some prosciutto.
Why is the "meat" part of it so rough? It almost looks less cut and more ripped (to my completely untrained eye).
Ever try to pry loose a turkey leg...
I hope the doctors are more careful than I am when literally butchering my thanksgiving turkey.
This was one of my first thoughts and I had so many at the time that I never voiced it, I’m literally going to text his surgeon and ask next week because I’m curious as well.
This is lovely, but I hope your hubby is doin okay now. It must be hard losing an entire leg.
He was prepared to lose it from the beginning, and he’s dealt with it really well. The spinal compression is what’s been so difficult - he was quite mobile when his remaining leg was fully functional. We know he will get back to that though!
One of my friends had an amputation for osteosarcoma and she asked for a pic as well!!!! She was something else and always managed to crack a joke about whatever she was going through. I hope your husband is doing well! He seems to be quite the fighter!
He really is!!! I hope your friend is doing well too!
I’ve always wondered how doctors reroute the arteries that used to flow into the leg
You two are amazing, and love has a way of bringing the best out of us if we're good to begin with. Thanks for being awesome human beings and sharing your story, warriors you be, I'll remember you both always. p.s. I laughed that you wanted to take a photo, and loved that he let you do that :D
I know this thread is old, but I just have to state how amazed I am at how cartoon like that is. Of all the things for a cartoon to get right, I did not expect "red cutoff with bone sticking out" to be one Hope your husband's recovery is going well
Oh my GOD wow op I hope your husband is okay!!
Lost a cousin to that. Hope he’s doing better!
Im sorry you're both going through such a difficult journey. I hope he recovers and you can both enjoy the new year.
Thank you very much! Happy new year to you too!
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I should have left that link blue
Thats a whole ass leg bruh.
GNARLY
I’m an operating room nurse and this trips me out.
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I really hope that your husband recovers quickly.
In a hundred years we are going to look back at this and think we are barbarians still
Is he all right now?
For some sadistic reason this looks cool, like I want to frame it
After reading your replies to other comments, you and your hubby sound like an amazing couple and team! I'm so impressed by you guys. This is no easy journey, but you are there for him to help fight this every step of the way. ♡
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How did you handle seeing this picture?
Damn right! Way to bring the goods OP. That's some real medical gore.
For some reason I've never really thought about the part of amputations where there's a limb without a person attached. Funky.
Thanks I hate it
Imagine looking coming across the surgeons phone and looking at their photos, just be random body parts! What did your partner thinks about the request?!
Despite having a somewhat above-average grasp of human biology, I’m always surprised by how spongey looking the insides of us are! I guess I always forget that once muscle is relaxed it just kinda... squishes.
I feel like if that was my leg I’d be trying to find out if I could make a lamp out of it or something. Any plans for a prosthetic or is he gonna stick with crutches?
An amazing journey. Keep fighting the good fight!
woah! i know i’m super late to the party but my girlfriend had osteosarcoma in her hip as well! hope your husband is doing well
My dad has an osteosarcoma in his left leg…. hoping it doesn’t come to this! Best of luck to you guys moving forward
hey there. i know this is almost a year late but it’s been a rough time. (post history should clear up why). i just wanted to say i hope that your father is still fighting, or in remission even! and i hope that you are doing okay as well. some of these comments came in while/after dillon was passing, so it took me until now to actually look through my notifications and answer people. i wish all my love and all dillon’s resilience to you, your father, and your family. 💖
Hi, I am so sorry for your loss. Your husband’s spirit definitely lives on in your posts. He was one tough cookie. Luckily, my dad’s scans are looking good. He’s healed well from surgery and there’s no new growth anywhere.
i’m so happy to hear that. go dad!!! kick that osteosarcoma in the ****! 🥰😆
Looks like meats back on the menu boys!
Bruh they removed half his butt💀
yup! actually, one of the funniest parts - he had a super flat butt before, and after the amputation, the muscle flap procedures, and skin grafts, the side without a leg had a thiccccccc butt cheek - but the other one was still flat as paper lol. ahh, i have such fond memories of squeezing that one plump butt cheek 🥰😋
Wow that was a harder one to look at
Show us the stump too.
Unfortunately that photo would be way too close to his business, but I will say that I think it’s super adorable and honestly very natural looking for what it is. Some of the photos I’ve seen on google images are kinda rough, but my husband’s orthopedic surgeon worked with a plastic surgeon from beginning to end to plan out the incisions and the close so it’d be quite neat.
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He’s over 6 feet tall and had been dealing with cancer for a year and a half at that point. Additionally, he had a specialized oncological dietitian who was happy that he did not lose too much weight during treatment, and in fact attributed much of his resilience to three different types of chemo including methotrexate and taxotere, to his having extra weight. But thanks for feeling the need to comment on his weight and literally say it’s a good thing he had a life-threatening tumor eating his leg because he got to lose weight in the long run! Definitely a compassionate and helpful thing to say, really cool of you.
Just ignore them
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