An incredibly intimate song from a 15-year-old bone cancer survivor puts into words what so many feel when going through a cancer diagnosis and treatment.
The song, “Unexpected Chains,” is by Abigail Wells, who was diagnosed last year at age 14 with osteosarcoma, a rare cancer that starts in the bone, according to a report on Little Rock, Ark.’s THV11. The cancer began as a tumor in her leg, it reported, and then spread to her lungs, and resulted in Wells having a lower leg removed.
Read More‘Unexpected Chains’
“Now that I have / these unexpected chains” Wells sings on the song, “the person I was / will never be the same.” The song continues, “Sometimes I don’t even feel like trying / When you say ‘how you doing?’ I end up lying / Honestly sometimes it’s hard to stop crying.”Wells told THV11 that “it helped me write down my feelings [and] all the stuff going through my head. It helped with the process of going through all of this.”
When it comes to her treatment, Wells reportedly said, “I kept telling myself I would rather lose my leg than lose my life. … Try to stay positive. Try to stay strong.”
Osteosarcoma: A Rare Cancer
Osteosarcoma, is a type of cancer that begins in the bone tissue. The cancer is most commonly diagnosed in children and young adults, and according to the American Cancer Society, the tumors tend to begin in the bones around the ends of the leg or arm bones that is, near the shoulders and knees, areas in which the bones grow quickly in young adults.
When it's spread throughout the body, the cancer has around a 27% five-year survival rate, which means roughly 27% of patients diagnosed with osteosarcoma will go on to live five years or more. Though every patient is different and treatment regimens differ from patient to patient, standard treatment for osteosarcoma usually includes surgery to remove the bone tumor(s) as well as chemotherapy to target the cancerous cells.
Music and Cancer
Music is an important part of the recovery process for many people going through cancer as it helps them process their new and often overwhelming emotions.
Breast cancer survivor Bianca Muniz, for instance, told SurvivorNet in a previous interview that music has been a huge part of her recovery. She turned to music as an outlet when she received an ovarian cancer diagnosis at age 11, and a breast cancer diagnosis at age 22.
Breast cancer survivor Bianca Muniz talks about the impact of music during her cancer recovery
Cancer, Bianca said, has acted as both a muse and a deterrent. Undergoing a variety of different cancer treatments did have an impact on her voice, she said, but she didn’t let that get in the way of her love of performing.
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