Desiraye: A model of faith, hope and living life to the fullest
December 12, 2004 19:42

Desiraye Bailey is a normal little girl who has more energy than her body can keep up with. She is afflicted with Ewing's Sarcoma bone cancer, a rare and aggressive cancer that quickly metastasizes to spread to other bones, the heart, lungs and brain. According to the American Cancer Society, it accounts for one percent of all childhood cancers and typically strikes males between 10 and 20 years old.

At the beginning of August last year, while Desiraye and her parents Tom and Dee Bailey were vacationing in Bandera, Desiraye complained that it hurt to move her left arm. Within days, a small knot, about the size of a thumbnail, protruded from her left shoulder blade. Less than a week later, the knot had grown to the size of a fist.

Dr. Ron Williams removed the cyst and pathology reports confirmed that it was a malignant tumor.

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Group helps families endure kids' cancer

Kory's Foundation, a nonprofit run by his parents, Karin and Kelly Ferris, helps the families of children in treatment for Ewing's sarcoma with daily responsibilities, such as paying bills, buying groceries and cleaning the house.

The aggressive cancer strikes mostly children, who develop hard-to-diagnose tumors, often in their legs, arms or pelvis. Kory, of Gresham, was a student at Reynolds High School in 1998 when he died at home. ... Full Story ...

Our data indicate that over-representation of the PDGF-B gene and, probably, of other genes mapping to 22q could play a key role in the pathogenesis of FS of bone. Unfortunately, no adequate experimental models are available to confirm and better delineate the importance of this marker in FS of bone and to evaluate whether a PDGF autocrine loop may exist also in this neoplasm, as it has been reported for other bone tumours including OS (McGary et al., 2002; Sulzbacher et al., 2000, 2003), MFH of bone (Abdiu et al., 1998), and Ewing's sarcoma (Uren ct al., 2003). However, our immunohistochemical findings revealed the simultaneous presence of both PDGF-B and PDGF receptors in about one third of the cases, suggesting the possible presence of a PDGF-mediated autocrine loop also in this neoplasm. Therefore, although additional studies are required to validate the role of PDGF-B in FS of bone, these findings suggest that new therapies targeting PDGF/PDGF receptors with drugs like STI571 or CGP57148B might be considered a novel treatment strategy for FS of bone patients, who are unresponsive to conventional therapies.

Sharing a bedroom with your younger sister can be pretty un-cool for a 16-year-old girl.

That's why Shawna Seidelman, when given the opportunity to wish for anything in the world, asked for a bedroom makeover that included no longer having to share a room with her 11-year-old sister.

The West Aurora High School student made the request to the Make A Wish Foundation after she was diagnosed in May with a rare form of bone cancer, Ewing's Sarcoma, in her knee and part of her femur.

http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/beaconnews/top/a18makewish.htm

Last year, Carly Chapman barely made it home in time for Christmas.

Still weak, she was released from Riley Hospital for Children late on Christmas Eve after one of several unplanned stays for dangerously low blood counts.

For Carly, that was life for months and months after she was diagnosed with cancer, had ground-breaking surgery at Riley and then endured chemotherapy that sapped her strength even as it zapped the killer cancer cells.

Carly Chapman's story

When Abby Szott began hurting last spring, she chalked up her pain to the typical bumps and bruises that go along with competitive gymnastics.

When the pain grew so bad that the sophomore from Eagan couldn't sleep at night, she and her family became alarmed. A drawn-out battery of tests finally uncovered the reason: stage four of Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare form of bone cancer.

As Szott, 16, continues to battle the disease, the local gymnastics community is pulling together to help one of its own. A meet at Eastview today will raise money to help her family defray costs associated with her illness.

"Gymnastics in the Twin Cities is a small, close-knit group of people," Eagan coach Karla Stock said.

"Gym coaches in Minnesota are usually old gymnasts. They want to help. It's such a helpless feeling that you try to do something."