Brave Woman, 29, Was Repeatedly Told By Doctors Her Extreme Knee Pain Was ‘Bursitis:’ Her Leg Was Amputated After It Turned Out To Be Cancer

But Laverty knew something else had to be wrong when the pain left her barely able to walk and she began to feel ill. That’s when she went to the hospital where scans and X-rays showed no signs of anything serious. She was sent home with a promise of a referral to see a rheumatologist for possible arthritis.

But after 10 months of waiting during the COVID-19 pandemic, Laverty pushed for the appointment only to discover that she was never put on the referral list. When she finally got to see the specialist, she was given six pills to take a day, steroid injections and weekly blood tests to no avail.

After rushing to the hospital on a particularly painful night and still receiving no answers, her rheumatologist sent her for an MRI. That’s when they discovered a 5-inch mass on her leg. A week later, she was diagnosed with a type of cancer called synovial sarcoma that can form in the soft tissues such as muscle or ligaments.

“I went to the appointment on my own not thinking anything of it to be told that it came back as cancer – synovial sarcoma,” Laverty said. “I was relieved that I finally had a diagnosis, but angry that it had took all this time and terrified in case the cancer had spread given how I had it and worried about what lay ahead.”

The same day of her diagnosis, Laverty was instructed to head straight to a specialist sarcoma team.

“You hear other people having cancer but somehow it’ll never be you,” she said.

For treatment, she ‘s undergone three rounds of two harsh chemotherapy drugs, a blood transfusion, 25 radiotherapy sessions and a 12-hour limb salvage surgery.

Now, she’s relearning how to walk and waiting for the arrival of a mechanical leg which will eventually be traded in for a microprocessor leg in six months time. The microprocessor leg will be funded by the National Health Service.

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“Everything has changed since the diagnosis, I went from an abled person to a disabled person but I wanted to do everything I could possibly do myself and now it’s up to my body what happens from now on,” she said. “I can’t just jump in the car and go to the shops, I can’t do the everyday tasks of making dinner or housework and I’m also off work.”

On top of it all, the type of leg that Laverty eventually wants did not receive funding.

“The prosthetic leg is motorized and uses sensor technology to recognize the intended movements to assist me to make more complex movements,” she said of her desired prosthetic. “Movements such as walking backwards, walking up stairs or switching between speeds/stride lengths will all become manageable using this technology.”

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In order to fundraise for this leg, Laverty has created a GoFundMe page to help cover the costs. And if you’d like to follow along on her cancer recovery journey, check out her Instagram page here.

Understanding Sarcomas

The term sarcoma is used to describe an array of more than 70 rare cancers that begin in the bones and the soft tissues, such as muscles. This diverse group of diseases accounts for only about one percent of tumors in adults and just over 10 percent of tumors in children.

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The main symptom of sarcomas is generally a slow-growing, painless mass, but symptoms can be hard to detect as soft tissue sarcomas are typically painless and bone sarcomas can be mistakenly diagnosed as orthopedic injuries.

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"Unfortunately, most sarcomas do not cause many of the symptoms that may be associated with other cancers," Dr. Dale Shepard, director of the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute Phase I and Sarcoma Programs, tells SurvivorNet. "A mass the size of a golf ball or larger and growing should be evaluated as a potential sarcoma. It's important that patients who do have symptoms are not dismissive of them."

Types of Sarcoma Cancers

The word sarcoma refers to a large array of bone and soft tissue cancers, and individual cancers within that set go by unique names. Some of the types of sarcomas include:

• Ewing's sarcoma is a cancer that typically occurs in and around the bones, often in the arms or legs, or the bones of the pelvis. It most commonly occurs in children and young adults.
• Kaposi sarcoma is a very rare type of cancer that causes lesions on the skin, in lymph nodes, organs, and the mucous membranes of the mouth, nose, and throat. It typically affects people with compromised immune systems, such as those with HIV.
• Epithelioid sarcoma is a type of soft tissue cancer that grows slowly. It is likely to begin under the skin of areas like the finger, hand, forearm, lower part of the leg, or foot.
• Synovial sarcoma, also called malignant synovioma, is a cancer that can form in the soft tissues such as muscle or ligaments, commonly close to joints or in areas like the arm, leg, or foot. This is the type of cancer Laverty had.

• Osteogenic sarcoma, also called osteosarcoma, is the most common type of cancer that starts in the bones.
• Spindle cell sarcoma is very rare, comprising as little as 2 percent of all primary bone cancer cases. It can start in the bone, often in the arms, legs, and pelvis, and usually occurs in people over 40.

Advocating for Your Health

As we've seen in the case of Laverty, it's always important to pay attention to the changes happening to your body and insist that medical professionals investigate.

You have every right to insist that your doctors investigate any possible signs of cancer, other avenues for treatment or the potential of a different diagnosis. And if you simply don't know what's causing a change to your body, you should still seek professional help. You never know when speaking up about a seemingly unimportant issue can lead to a very important diagnosis cancer or otherwise.

Be Pushy, Be Your Own Advocate… Don't Settle

"Every appointment you leave as a patient, there should be a plan for what the doc is going to do for you, and if that doesn't work, what the next plan is," Dr. Zuri Murrell, director of the Cedars-Sinai Colorectal Cancer Center, told SurvivorNet in a previous interview. "And I think that that's totally fair. And me as a health professional that's what I do for all of my patients."

In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, April Knowles explained how she became a breast cancer advocate after her doctor dismissed the lump in her breast as a side effect of her menstrual period. Unfortunately, that dismissal was a mistake. Knowles was diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer at age 39. She said the experience taught her the importance of listening to her body and speaking up when something doesn't feel right.

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"I wanted my doctor to like me," she said. "I think women, especially young women, are really used to being dismissed by their doctors."

Figuring out whether or not you actually have cancer based on possible symptoms is critical because early detection may help with treatment and outcomes. Seeking multiple opinions is one way to ensure you're getting the care and attention you need.

Another thing to remember is that not all doctors are in agreement. Recommendations for further testing or treatment options can vary, and sometimes it's essential to talk with multiple medical professionals.

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.