Wednesday Warrior – Starla

I am 37 years old and a week before my 37th birthday I was diagnosed with a high grade myxoid sarcoma.  I had started running in March the year before and discovered my love for it. I had some trouble with shin splints and thought I also developed a stress fracture so I laid off running for six weeks. During these six weeks I noticed a large mass above my ankle on my left leg.  It was painless so I thought I had grew a muscle from running, however it did start to make my leg numb when I started running again six weeks later.  I went to the doctor and so my journey began. From what I thought was a muscle to a nerve sheath tumor to finally after a biopsy a diagnoses of a malignant high grade myxoid sarcoma. I underwent 25 rounds of radiation that blistered my heel horribly, then I had a wide extraction of the tumor where I lost part of my lower leg.  The pain for the extraction was the worst pain I have ever experienced and then chemo began. I was inpatient four days then off three weeks for three rounds so far.  I have up to three more rounds to go.  I am working to rehab my leg and to stay positive through my last few rounds of chemo.  I have three little girls ages 10, 7, and 5 who need me to get better so we can get our lives back.  My husband had been my rock and has been so supportive through this journey.  My family and community has also been behind me and very supportive.  I do not have a history of cancer in my family so this has been a new journey for all of us and an eye opener to the world of Cancer.

If you or a loved one has been impacted by sarcoma cancer, we encourage you to share your story.  Sharing your story can be such an inspiration to others who are dealing with sarcoma in their own life and remind us all of the urgency to find better treatments in order to make an impact on the devastation that sarcoma cancer brings. Let your experiences help others become involved with raising awareness!