Overview of osteosarcoma:

There are about 900 new cases of osteosarcoma diagnosed in the US each year. About 400 occur in children and adolescents younger than 20 years of age.

Osteosarcoma forms in the bones. It is most commonly diagnosed in those who are 15 to 25 years of age. It is also the most common type of bone cancer, and the sixth most common type of cancer in children.

Other types of cancer can eventually metastasize to the bone, however this disease originates in the bone and can spread elsewhere to other parts of the body.

Many cases of osteosarcoma, around 80 percent, begin in or around the knee area.

What are the risks of osteosarcoma?

The disease is most seen in boys and can arise from unpredictable errors in the DNA of growing bone cells during times of intense bone growth. Currently, there is no effective way to prevent this type of cancer but with proper treatment most kids diagnosed with osteosarcoma do recover.

Osteosarcoma begins in the bones. It is the most common type of bone cancer tumor in the group of bone cancers called osteogenic sarcomas. It affects 5 percent of all teens diagnosed with cancer. Symptoms usually include pain or swelling in the legs or arms.

Tina blogs about her daughter Kristina Rose. Kristina's website caught my eye one day because we share the same name. I wanted to read about her story. I have since then been in contact with Kristina's mom Tina. She is an amazing mom who lives with the fear of Kristina's cancer returning. Kristina is doing wonderful and is now over a two year survivor!

The Relay for Life is something that is very important to Tina. She wants to make sure that a cure is found! You can go to the American Cancer Society website to find more information about the Relay for Life or go here to find information about the Relay of Life that Kristina and her mom will be involved in.

On March 29th, 2004 Kristina was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma. She was only 11 years old. She is a beautiful young woman now, as you can see! Tina might not have too much to blog about these days except that Kristina is being a normal teenager and spending lots of time on the phone. This I love to hear!

The National Cancer Institute started a program about a year-and-a-half ago that allowed pet owners to enroll their dogs in clinical trials when conventional treatment wasn't working. The idea was to stop giving cancer to animals, start trying to help animals who developed cancer naturally, and help humans in the process. The Comparative Oncology Program (COP) is helping change the controversial issue of medical research involving animals.

Dogs develop many of the same kind of cancers that humans develop and cancer in dogs also metastasizes more similar to humans than lab mice. Dogs are also closer in weight to humans and share the same environment. The types of cancer in dogs that could translate into results for humans include osteosarcoma, breast and prostate cancer, colon, melanoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, head and neck carcinoma, and soft-tissue sarcoma.

Conventional cancer treatments can cost between $4,000 and $7,000 for a dog and sometimes it can be much higher. The COP trials are expected to be very low-cost, or free. Most of the pet owners expense will be for the initial evaluation. Someone whose dog is diagnosed with cancer may be referred by their veterinarian to a local veterinary teaching hospital and if that hospital is a member of the COP consortium and is participating in a clinical trial for that dog's cancer diagnosis, the owner will have the option of enrolling their pet.

The COP Web site features a list of all of the trials sponsored at the various consortium hospitals.

Having a dog or cat or any other pet diagnosed with cancer is just as hard as having a friend or family member diagnosed. We have to determine the treatments and procedures since they can't speak up. A common cancer in dogs and cats is bone cancer. Osteosarcoma is the most common long bone tumor in dogs and cats. Often it is mistaken for arthritis or pulled muscles or stiffness in its early stages and so is not diagnosed sometimes until drastic measures have to take place. Cats and dogs differ in the way bone cancer matures and how treatment should be administered. Because of the rapid nature of osteosarcoma, treatment should be sought as soon as possible. The only trouble is that the most common sign -- lameness and pain -- usually happens when it is already taken firm hold.