Help Ana Heal from Ewing's Sarcoma

I was at Costco when I got a phone call from Vaska, my best friend since we were in the 7th grade. I could barely understand her through the weeping. Then she took a breath and repeated what I hadn't previously understood. She cried. "Ana has cancer! You have to pray for her!" My heart dropped at the incredible news. My closest friend's sweet 19 yr. old daughter, Ana, has cancer. My heart broke with hers and wondered how can I help my friend who lives so far away? Ana, her parents, and two older brothers live in Macedonia due to her mom's work and they have been there for many years now. Besides praying, there wasn't much I could do from NJ, so I did what every good friend does. I asked them to please let me know how I could help. They eventually did let me know and that's why this page exists, today. Let me tell you what happened to Ana and how you might be able, as well.

Ana had complained about her shoulder hurting after accidentally hitting the wall in her sleep. After seeing the chiropractor, it was recommended that she receive acupuncture and heat treatments to her shoulder and arm for a few weeks. Six weeks later her shoulder and arm seemed to be worse. The recommendations continued with strength exercises at home and treatments in the office.

On June 6, 2021, as she lifted a plastic bottle of seltzer water, she heard a cracking sound and her right arm just dropped. Her parents took her for an x-ray and the radiologist, looking at the image, told them that she needed to see an orthopedic oncologist immediately. Ana's mom recalled that the upper arm looked as though the bone had been macerated by a dog!

The Diagnosis and Possible Treatment

After the shock wore off and a CT Scan and MRI were done, they could see that a cancerous tumor that had originated in the bone, had also spread to the surrounding tissues in her upper right arm, from the shoulder almost down to her elbow. The tumor was about the size of a grapefruit and had caused the bone to break. The diagnosis is Ewing Sarcoma, one of the rarest childhood cancers in the world where only about 200 children between the ages of 5 and 20 get it, every year in the U.S. That is 0.06% of the total US population (200 children out of 300 million people in the USA).

Living in North Macedonia, Ana and her family have no U.S. insurance coverage. Unfortunately, there are no specialists able to deal with the surgery needed for her broken upper arm which needs the tumor and bone to be removed and replaced with a prosthetic. On recommendation from the orthopedic surgeon in Macedonia, the family went to Vienna, Austria to see an expert oncology surgeon who has the most experience in “Limb Sparing Surgery” and prosthetic placement in Europe. Professor Dr. Rainer Kotz at the Weiner PrivatKlinik is the leading surgery expert in Europe and has helped many children with Ewing Sarcoma and prosthetic surgery.

During their visit to see Dr. Kotz they received the biopsy and the official histopathology report indicating that she has Ewing Sarcoma. He prescribed that Ana complete 6 cycles (once every 21 days) of chemotherapy to shrink the tumor enough for the surgery to be successful. Without an experienced surgeon, she could lose the arm completely. Further, it is also very near her chest wall and the surgeon needs to be able to save the blood vessels needed to spare the arm without doing damage to her chest and lungs.

The next steps would be to plan for the surgery in Vienna preceded by targeted chemo and heat therapy in Greece. Between that and extended stays in each country, the cost would more than wipe out the family's savings. The family is hoping they can begin treatment in mid-November.

Ana started Chemotherapy on June 14 and has now had a total of 5 difficult chemotherapy cycles and has one more to go. It's been rough on her. She is tired, has lost her hair, and for about 10-12 days after each chemo cycle, she is nauseous throughout the day. By the time she recovers and feels better, she has to go through it again.

It's been 5 months since Ana the arm broke but it can't be put into a cast and healed because cancer prevents any mending of the bone. Ana is resilient, learning to use her left hand for everything but still unable to do everything on her own, like putting on her clothes or taking a bath/shower for fear of falling and further damaging her already broken arm.

More about Ana:

Her Soul

She is one of the friendliest people you could meet, always smiling and saying hello to everyone including the seniors in their neighborhood. The older ladies keep trying to set her up with their grandsons but she’s never had a boyfriend. We say she has an old soul.

Her Passion

Ana loves to draw and paint but breaking her drawing arm, she missed being able to do them, with her right hand. But that didn't keep Ana from her passion. This resilient and positive young woman started drawing with her left hand. She loves drawing anime characters and even with her left hand they are pretty amazing!

Her Studies

Because she wasn't able to sit and type on the laptop for school, her high school has allowed her to postpone completing her senior year. She graduated this October with a 3.8 average on her 19th birthday!

Her Endeavor

To keep her mind on positive things and not just watching TV or YouTube all day, Ana has completed a young adult novel by typing it up on her phone with her left hand! She plans on self-publishing once the surgery and recovery are completed.

Even with one working arm, Ana is still full of life, creativity, and determination. When chemo knocks her out, she gets right back up and continues on, living her life to the fullest. Anything you can do to help Ana regain her health and get a new arm would mean more than you could ever imagine to her and her family.