Ewing's Sarcoma
My uncle Herm was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma when he was in his mid-20s; it was found in his leg. He lived with this rare cancer for 10 years before he passed away from it. He died before I was born, so I didn’t know anything about it. Years later when I was a teenager my cousin Joe was diagnosed with the same type of cancer, he was also in his 20s. Joe’s cancer was found in his chest, he didn’t live as long with the cancer. He passed when he was only 27. Joe and I were really close, so I got interested in the type of cancer. His doctor said that it was a rare type of cancer that was hereditary to the identical. This made me very interested. Looking at pictures of Joe and my Uncle Herm you could not tell them apart. I wanted to know if it is true that Ewing’s Sarcoma is hereditary to the identical because there were two people in my family that were diagnosed with this type of cancer and they were identical. Joe never had any children, so if the cancer is hereditary to the identical then the cancer gene stopped with him. Ewing’s Sarcoma is a very rare cancer in adults; it has usually spread to other parts of the body when it is detected. Ewing’s Sarcoma is a form of bone cancer and is typically found in teenagers when they undergo growth spurts, but it can occur at any age. Ewing’s Sarcoma is very rare in adults. Ewing’s Sarcoma accounts for about one to two percent of childhood cancers. There are about 225 children and adolescents diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma in the United States each year (Brigham and Women's Hospital, 2010-2012). It is the second most common malignant bone tumor in children and adolescents. Adult patients with Ewing’s Sarcoma/PNET at highest risk for death are those older than 26 years and have metastatic disease or an extra osseous primary tumor. There are more males that are affected than females. Ewing’s