California High School Student Sinks Game-Winning Shot After Nearly Losing Leg In Cancer Battle; What You Should Know About Osteosarcoma

Torrey Pines High School senior Nick Herrmann, 19, helped carry the Falcons past Cathedral Catholic High School in the San Diego Boys Open Division Championship Game, and will now be heading to the state championship. It is an unbelievable feat for a young man who was unsure if he would be able to walk after being diagnosed with osteosarcoma in his left leg in 2016.

In the end, his hard work paid off, and the undefeated Falcons are the top seed heading into the championship.

"Diving on the floor, just doing whatever it takes to win. It was just a back-and-forth battle the whole game,” Herrmann told ABC 7 after the victory.

"Once I knew I shot it high enough, I just kind of told myself, 'I deserve this,' and I thought it was going in."

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It was a moment that left the teenager in tears as he remembered all he went through to get to that point.

"Everything that had gone into it, from the day I was diagnosed, the long rounds of treatment, the long weeks in the hospital. Just all started pouring out when the shot went in," said Hermann.

"It was definitely hard. There were definitely sometimes where I was really down on myself, but for the most part, I really had this positive outlook.”

What are Sarcomas?

If you get a diagnosis of a common cancer such as breast cancer you might already have some sense of what that means. But what if you learn you have a sarcoma cancer? These are much more rare, and less likely to be discussed in casual office visits or among friends. In fact, this rare and diverse group of diseases accounts for only about one percent of adult tumors and just over 10 percent of tumors in children.

For the second time in three years, the Falcons are the top team in San Diego!

2021 OPEN DIVISION CHAMPIONS!#TheGoldStandard

(Better photos sure to come) pic.twitter.com/It9pJ6W04L

Torrey Pines Hoops (@TPHS_Basketball) June 13, 2021

First, what does "sarcoma" mean? It's the general term describing an array of cancers more than 70 that begin in the bones and in the soft tissues (that includes muscles, fat, blood vessels, tendons, nerves, and joint linings).

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"Sarcomas are rare and the cause in most patients is unknown," Dr. Vishal Gupta, site director of Radiation Oncology at The Blavatnik Family Chelsea Medical Center at Mount Sinai, previously told SurvivorNet.

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. For instance:

• 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 soft tissues such as muscle or ligaments, commonly close to joints or in areas like the arm, leg, or foot.
• Osteogenic sarcoma, also called osteosarcoma, starts in the bone, often as it is forming as a young person grows.
• 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.

Sarcoma Symptoms

The typical symptom of sarcomas is a slow-growing, painless mass. But sarcoma can be hard to detect through symptoms. "Unfortunately, most sarcomas do not cause many of the symptoms that may be associated with other cancer," Dr. Dale Shepard, director of the Cleveland Clinic Taussig Cancer Institute Phase I and Sarcoma Programs, previously explained to SurvivorNet.

Shepard went on to say that this often leads to large tumors at the time of diagnosis. "Soft tissue sarcomas are typically painless," he says. "Bone sarcomas may be mistaken for orthopedic injuries. 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."

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