The children who come from every corner of B.C. for specialized treatment at BC Children’s Hospital benefit from a wealth of expertise.
13-year-old Marko was diagnosed with steogenic sarcoma or bone cancer.
It is the same type of cancer that cost Terry Fox his leg. Back then the treatment was amputation, but things have changed.
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After months of chemotherapy to reduce the size of the tumuor, surgeons removed the diseased portion arm bone.
They then removed his fibula – the smaller of two bones that run from the knee to the ankle.
But the healing process is a long and often painful one.
A cumbersome device called an external fixator — made of implanted pins and bars — was used to immobilize his healing bones.
Chemotherapy, which continued after surgery, has kept the bones from fusing and there have been two breaks, but Marko keeps on smiling.
Now that the chemotherapy is over, they hope that Marko’s arm will at last heal, and that he’ll once again be able to do what he loves most – hockey.
Linda Aylesworth reports.
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