Hello, I just joined up on this site so I'm not sure if I'm posting in the correct forum, but my 22 year old son was diagnosed with osteosarcoma of the humerus (upper arm) in August, 2008. He was told by the orthopedic onocologist he would have 3 cycles of chemo then a shoulder replacement then more chemo. The purpose of having the chemo prior to surgery is to shrink or to kill the tumor so it's easier for her to remove. Can anyone explain to me what "killing the tumor" means? I am concerned because it does not seem to me from the outside that the tumor is going down in size. I have been told that sarcomas typically do not shrink in size that much. My son has had 3 cycles of chemo, but the onocologist who is handling the chemo wants him to have a 4th cycle. He is hospitalized for 3 days and is receiving cisplastin for 6 hours and doxarubin(sp) for 24 hours straight during the times he receives chemo. I was told that he would have another bone scan, PET scan, MRI, etc. prior to surgery to compare from the first scans, tests, etc. that were taken when he was first diagnosed. Any info anyone can offer me is extremely appreciated. Thank you.
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