My name is Frank. I am 35 years old. I was diagnosed with a soft-tissue
Ewing's a little
over a year ago. The tumor is located off the adrenal gland in my right side.
It was quite
large when it was discovered (about 7 in by 4 in). Since that time I have
undergone many
chemo treatments and have shrunk the tumor to about a third of that size. At
that point,
they decided to try surgery. When they got in there, they realized that the
damn thing had
wrapped itself around the main vein going into the liver and they couldn 't do
anything at
that point because of the risk. so now I have a 14 inch scar across my stomach
for
nothing. I am now beginning chemo again and possibly radiation to try and
shrink it some
more so they can try the surgery again with less risk to my life. One good
thing is that i
tolerate the chemo very well. I always have. I have very few side effects. My
worst side
effects are sore throat and bone and muscle pain. Don't get me wrong, the bone
pain is no
joke. After the first time, i can feel when it is coming and i take my pain meds
and it
controls the pain pretty well. I have read a few of the earlier posts and I
agree, it is a very
long process but the way that i look at it is that I am exchanging a year or two
of my life to
gain the rest of my life and if you look at it that way, the process doesn't
seem as long. I
believe the most important thing especially for you newly diagnosed people out
there, is
to keep a positive attitude. Live your life the best that you can, keep smiling,
keep
laughing, and keep fighting.