On Tuesday, June 8, 2010, I was diagnosed with a spindle-cell sarcoma in my left shoulder. This is a cancerous mass that is 6 cm x 4 cm x 2 cm and is located between my trapezius and my ribs and is leaning against my spine. I have been aware of the mass for over a year but, thinking that it was a knotted muscle, I sought treatment with family medicine providers, massage therapists, chiropractors, and acupuncturists. It was actually an acupuncturist at Mayo Clinic that suggested I have it looked at due to its abnormality and possibly have it removed to relieve pain. Six rounds of chemotherapy starting on June 14, 2010 was followed by 25 days of radiation therapy beginning August 9, 2010. I had surgery with an Oncological Surgeon and an Orthopedic Surgeon on October 12, 2010. The tumor was removed and the recovery began.

On Friday, January 7, 2011, I went in for my 3-month scans and I was told that there were three nodules in my right lung that had increased in size quite a bit since September. They now measured in at 9mm, 4mm, and 4mm. I had a few choices of action and I opted for the agressive route and had the nodules removed with surgery on Wednesday, January 19, 2011. At that time they were diagnosed as metastatic spindle-cell sarcoma.

There was still questionable haziness in the left lung that was be looked at on March 16 but the scans showed that it was \"resolved\", meaning gone and cancer free on March 17, 2011.

More [cancerous] nodules were found in my right lung on June 24, 2011 and we\'re playing the \"wait and see\" game until August of 2011 to see if they\'ll have grown enough to remove or treat.

The[cancerous] nodules found in my right lung on June 24, 2011 were re-scanned on August 24 and chemotherapy has been prescribed for the latest crop up and an additional tumor in the skin tissue near the incision area from my January 2011 surgery.

Surgery to relieve side pain due to the tumor in my ribs took place on September 29, 2011. The tumor was prodruding so that it was uncomfortable for me to lower my arm. My thorasic surgeon agreed to remove the tumor and when he was finished with the operation, he told me that there is \"a lot of disease in there and it is wrapped around and behind the ribs.\" They removed as much as they could without disturbing the ribs.

I took a plane trip and chance on health care in January, 2012 when I sought a second opinion at MD Anderson in Houston, Texas. There were no studies or any new treatments that they were familiar with that Mayo had not already tried and I returned home in the same situation that I left.

On February 13, 2012 I ended up in the ED and then in the hospital because of a backed up bowel. I was so careful to keep ahead of that but it ended up making life pretty uncomfortable.

I underwent a cryoablation on the tumor in my right side on March 26, 2012. This is a procedure that sticks needles into the tumor and freezes it to keep it from growing any more than it already has.

April 18, 2012 found me in the hospital again for three days when I had a pain pump implanted under the skin in my belly. It proved to be a huge improvement in pain control and helped me to feel more lively.

After a trying vacation from June 27- July 1 to Kansas and Missouri, my pain and numbness in my right leg brought be back to the hospital where I was monitored for a week for pain control and then I spent 5 days in rehab learning how to compensate for lack of muscular control. I was discharged and quickly lost use of both legs but still staying at home as long as I can.

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