Borders

Sarcoma Knows No Borders

Bruce Shriver

The Basic Question

Because so few people are aware of sarcoma, many of them ask, "What is sarcoma?" Some simple "Sarcoma Facts" are listed below. I have used them in numerous conversations with people to help address that question. I often summarize them by saying, "Sarcoma knows no borders. It can occur anywhere in the body, it doesn't discriminate on age, gender, race or creed and occurs in countries all over the world. Yet, it is the Forgotten Cancer."

What is sarcoma?

It is a cancer of the connective tissues, such as nerves, muscles, cartilage, joints, bone, or blood vessels.

It can arise anywhere in the body, frequently hidden deep in the limbs.

How prevalent are sarcomas?

About 1% of all adult cancers are sarcomas.

Between 15-20% of all children’s cancers are sarcomas.

There are hundreds of thousands of patients and their families struggling with sarcoma world wide

How are sarcomas treated?

When possible, sarcoma patients have surgery to remove the cancer.

Surgery is often combined with chemotherapy and/or radiation.

Why are sarcomas dangerous?

They are often misdiagnosed. Sometimes they are thought to be sports injuries.

When they are diagnosed, they may be large and difficult to remove surgically and they may have metastasized.

Many sarcomas resist current treatments.

Our Sarcoma Ribbon — Sarcoma Knows No Borders

The "What is Sarcoma" facts listed above are currently being translated into over 20 languages. They have been used as handouts at cancer and sarcoma awareness events, on Team Sarcoma T-shirts, on posters, and flyers in many countries worldwide. The translations will be available in Arabic, Chinese, Croatian, Danish, Dutch, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Spanish, Swedish, Tamil, and Ukrainian. Please contact us if you would like to assist us in translating the Sarcoma Facts to one or more additional languages. Our "Sarcoma Ribbon" reflects the fact that "sarcoma knows no borders" in the national sense as the word "sarcoma" appears on it in many of the world's languages. If you click on the ribbon below, it will open up so you can read it more easily. The background of the ribbon consists of the small round blue cells that identify a particular sarcoma, Ewing's sarcoma.

We have made a reversible wristband similar to the ribbon. On one side "Sarcoma Knows No Borders" appears and on the other side, the word sarcoma is printed in over a dozen of the world's languages. Each wristband is packaged in a separate plastic bag. Please contact us if you would like to learn more about these wristbands.

We Must Work Aggressively to Find a Cure

There are over 50 subtypes of sarcoma. There are two basic categories of sarcoma, soft tissue sarcoma and non-soft tissue sarcoma. Common types of soft tissue sarcoma are malignant fibrous histiocytoma (MFH), liposarcoma, leiomyosarcoma (LMS), synovial sarcoma, malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors, and rhabdomyosarcoma. The most common types of bone cancer are osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Ewing's bone sarcoma, chordoma, and malignant fibrous histiocytoma/fibrosarcoma. Some sarcomas, such as Ewing's sarcoma, have both a soft tissue and non-soft tissue form. According to the American Cancer Society's Key Statistics About Soft Sarcoma, approximately 9,530 new cases of soft-tissue sarcoma will be diagnosed in the United States in 2006. The ACS goes on to state, "Of these, 5,720 cases will be diagnosed in males, and 3,810 cases will be diagnosed in females. During 2006, 3,500 Americans (1,830 males and 1,670 females) are expected to die of soft tissue sarcomas. These statistics include both adults and children." With respect to non-soft tissue sarcomas, the ACS states, "In 2006, about 2,760 new cases of cancer of the bones and joints will be diagnosed, and about 1,260 deaths from these cancers are expected. Primary cancers of bones account for less than 0.2% of all cancers. Bone tumors occur at any age. About 30% are seen in children and adolescents." But, the United States is but one country. When you extrapolate these figures to the worldwide population, you understand why we say that hundreds of thousands of families are struggling with this disease. Given these figures for soft tissue and non-soft tissue sarcomas, we must work aggressively to find a cure for both.