This month of July happens to be Sarcoma Awareness Month. This type of cancer happens to occur in various parts of the body. It is a condition that affects both children and adults, more frequently in adults. There are more than 70 types of sarcoma including angiosarcoma, which is a condition that forms in the lining of the blood vessels and lymph vessels. What is this cancerous condition and what causes it? Let’s take a look and find out what you need to know about sarcoma.
What Type of Cancer is Sarcoma?
Sarcoma is a rare type of cancer that begins in the bone and soft tissues of your body. The connective tissues in our bodies include our muscles, fat, tendons, nerves, ligaments, cartilage, etc. Soft tissue sarcoma develops in these different body structures. Only 1% of adults are diagnosed with this illness and 15% of children are diagnosed with it.
Sarcoma disease can develop throughout the body including the legs, ankles, feet, hands, shoulders, wrists, arms, head, neck, etc. This disease mostly occurs in the legs, ankles, and feet. Some of the symptoms to look out for in sarcoma include a new lump that may or may not be painful, bone pain, abdominal pain, weight loss, back pain, and trouble moving your arm or leg. Sarcoma is also composed of more than 70 different subtypes including angiosarcoma, osteosarcoma, and gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST).
What Causes Sarcoma Cancer
While it is still a little unclear what causes different types of sarcomas, they do start to form when immature bone or soft tissue cells change within their DNA and develop into cancer cells. They may eventually form a tumor that can invade nearby healthy tissues. However, researchers are still finding out what exactly causes a healthy cell to develop into a sarcoma.
Various factors cause sarcoma to develop in people. One of these risk factors includes inheriting a genetic condition from a family member. A few good examples of these are disorders such as Gorlin syndrome, Gardner syndrome, retinoblastoma, or von Hippel-Lindau disease. Lymphedema, which is a chronic swelling in the arms or legs, is another risk factor for sarcoma. When a person undergoes radiation treatment for cancer, it could potentially raise their risk of developing sarcoma. Also, if you work in a job or in an environment where you’re exposed to industrial chemicals and herbicides, this could raise your risk.
Is Sarcoma Hereditary?
We already learned a lot about sarcoma causes, symptoms, and health risks. However, is it a hereditary condition? It can be. Benign soft tissue tumor condition neurofibromatosis happens to be an illness you can inherit from a family member. If you have a family member who has had sarcoma at a young age, consider asking your doctor about genetic testing. This will help to see if you’re at great risk of inheriting this disease from them or not.
Finding a Doctor for Sarcoma Illness Treatment
Like most illnesses, sarcoma can be treated best with surgery to remove the tumor. Every treatment works out differently for each patient depending on the type of sarcoma they have, the location, etc. Some other forms of treatment may be used before or after surgery. A short list of these treatments includes:
- Chemotherapy- Uses chemicals to kill cancer cells.
- Radiation therapy- involves medical professionals using X-rays and protons to kill cancer.
- Immunotherapy- This drug treatment uses your immune system to fight cancer.
- Ablation therapy- This therapy treatment involves the medical professional applying electricity or very cold liquid to either heat or freeze the cancer cells.
Contact your doctor to see which treatment is best for you and your condition. It’s always best to get the answers you need to treat and manage sarcoma. If you have any questions about this illness, please visit the website www.cancer.org. Knowledge is power when it comes to being aware of what’s going on with your body.
If you’re going through a sarcoma illness or know someone who is, feel free to leave a comment in the section below. As always be sure to like or share this post with the next person you care about who is battling cancer or any other similar illness.
