My whole life I have been an athlete and since college an avid runner. I have run many half marathons and a couple full
marathons. I have had pain in my right upper thigh and back for years but always attributed it to too much outdoor running (which is so much better than the treadmill!). After running the NYC marathon through a bit of pain in 2018 I began to notice a mass on my right lower pelvis and went to chiropractor,  general practitioner, and then physical therapy  for several months and the pain kept getting worse and worse and no one could tell me what was wrong. It was that last trip to my general practitioner where he took an X-ray of my pelvis and could see the mass where we learned what was contributing to my pain. Several tests later and we discovered it was a malignant bone tumor on my right pelvis the size of cantaloupe that has been growing for years! The cause of this type of rare cancer is unknown but is not believed to be genetic. It is abnormal cartilage in my bones that developed into cancer. I was told by the doctor the treatment needed to cure me of the cancer would be life changing.

The treatment for chondrosarcoma is largely surgical removal therefore my journey is much different than other cancer patients. Because the cancer cells are slow growing, they don’t respond to chemo or radiation. I was diagnosed in October 2019 and had a successful surgery on December 12th with Dr. Healey, top orthopedic oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering in NYC.  During the 16 hour surgery he was able to remove the tumor and a margin of healthy tissue around it which entailed removing half my pelvis and half my sacrum with it. After meeting with four top ortho surgeons I decided to pursue pelvic reconstruction to put other bone in place of my pelvic bone to prevent the leg length discrepancy that occurs without reconstruction. While this makes recovery much longer and more difficult, if it works it will dramatically improve my quality of life. The success of this working is 40-50%. I have many months of laying flat in a full body brace (other than walking to the bathroom) for the reconstruction of my pelvis to heal so hopefully one day be able to walk again without support like crutches or a cane. It will likely be about a year, maybe more, before I can walk without support or drive. The chance of the cancer recurring is 20% so I will be monitored closely the next ten years.  While I will never run again, I hope to eventually resume other activities that bring me joy in life like hiking with my dog Shiloh!

I cannot work until middle of this year but will receive a portion of my salary while on disability. I will have many medical bills to pay in the coming months and years. Anything you can contribute no matter how small to help me in the difficult time is much appreciated. Even  just reading my story means so much to me!