Jack's Story

During a baseball game, a game of which Jack loves, he slid into second base head first and jammed his right ring finger; not a big deal.  After the game, a bit of ice and off he went.  A few weeks later Jack complained about pain and noticed a bump on the side of his finger.  We made an appointment with a hand orthopedic specialist.

September 14, 2010, 10:45am
Dr. Lilley of Garey Orthopedics decided that surgery was needed to remove what everyone thought was just a cyst.  The surgery was on October 15th, at Casa Colina Surgery Center.  The surgery went well by Dr. Lilley's account; the cyst looked very much like a mushroom, with a defined cap and stem wrapped around the tendon.  Dr. Lilley speculated it may be a fungus; easily treated with antibiotics and even showed us a photograph taken during surgery.  Jack's follow-up appointment was October 22nd, a simple appointment to change the dressing on his finger, turns out this was a really tough appointment for all of us.  We thought we were going to be in and out quickly; however, left the office with a heavy heart and the diagnosis of Synovial Sarcoma, a rare soft tissue cancer.  The baseball injury probably irritated the slow growing cancer just enough for us to notice it, otherwise it may not have been detected until much later.

Referred to UCLA
With this diagnosis, and after checking with local cancer experts, Dr. Lilley referred Jack to the UCLA Medical Center Sarcoma experts.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010, 11:00am.
We met with Dr. Jeffrey Eckardt, Professor of Orthopaedic Oncology, UCLA Medical Center and Orthopaedic Hospital-Santa Monica.  Dr. Eckardt has a gently spirit and a warm soul that made Jack feel right at ease.  He sat next to Jack on the exam table during the entire appointment.  Additional tests were ordered, x-rays of Jack's hand, heels, chest, and a chest CT, all of which were performed right there at UCLA.  The reason for the chest CT is that Synovial Sarcoma can rapidly spread to the lungs.  Dr. Eckardt advised us that his tumor board would meet on November 18th, to discuss Jack's case.  In addition to potential additional surgeries and optional treatments for Jack, Dr. Eckardt wants Jack to meet with the UCLA Pediatric-Hematoloy-Oncologist, Dr. Noah Federman.

On our drive home from UCLA, Dr. Eckardt's office called to let us know that the chest CT scan showed that Jack had a case of pneumonia.  He hadn't been feeling well for a few days and a visit to urgent care on November 9th, doctors diagnosed it as viral and only prescribed cough syrup.  GOD give me strength.  So after a "quick" stop at urgent care and a prescription for antibiotics, we finally arrived home.

Thursday, November 11, 2010.
Dr. Noah Federman's office called and made an appointment to see Jack on Monday, November 15th, at 8:00am.  Dr. Federman will be a part of the tumor board with Dr. Eckardt next Thursday.  The group of doctors attending the tumor board will discuss Jack's case to decide on the best treatment options.

We are so blessed to have such loving family and friends.  Your prayers and positive thoughts are exactly what we need.