Bose's Cancer Fight
- Krista Bose, 27, was first diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer, in 2018, and had to have the bones and muscles in one of her legs removed. Now she is living with rods in that leg.
- The courageous London medical student just announced that she is going into her final year of medical school to become a doctor, despite having stage 4 cancer during a pandemic.
- Survivor Kara Ladd, who was diagnosed at 24 with a different type of sarcoma than Krista (that starts in the soft tissue), tells SurvivorNet about her life-altering diagnosis and how she is not letting her doctor’s reminders of never being able to wear heels, run, or do yoga again get her discouraged.
After having some setbacks due to the pandemic and her weakened immune system, the Canada-born former teacher was unable to work at a hospital, but is finally able to continue with her dream.
Read More“I’m BACK at medical school,” the London-based cancer warrior writes on her Instagram page alongside a pic of herself in scrubs with a beaming smile. “I am back training to become a Doctor. I’m back being a full version of myself. I am back to studying and drinking oat lattes and wearing pants that have belt hooks.”
She says she is due to finish her training at St George’s, University of London this summer. “This team and this drug have literally bought me enough time to see this through.” The fact that she is so “well-versed” in medicine has also helped her through.
“To feel like you have the skills, you have the knowledge, you could be an asset to those patients, it’s hard to feel like you’re wasting away on the sidelines,” she told CNN in a recent interview.
Bose, who has now learned to walk with the rods in her leg, just received some good news that she is in better shape than she was a few months ago as far as cancer in her body, and has been granted access to the drug Cabozantinib, which “has recently shown very promising results for patients with metastatic sarcoma.” Also, Bose writes that the side effects are more manageable than the side effects from chemo, so it will be easier for Bose to get through these final weeks as a student.
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Dreaming of a Cure
In January, Bose was still weighing her life decisions.
“I keep thinking- assuming actually- that one day, I’ll be all-clear. That I’ll be given the coveted cancer-title of NED (no evidence of disease),” she writes. “I know that’s not how ‘stage four metastatic incurable bone cancer’ works, but I just don’t feel ready to give up hope for a cancer-free me. I know that logistically, statistically, factually… cancer and me will always be together… But I can’t stop holding onto hope that maybe one day, we won’t.” Her doctors don’t know exactly how many years she has left.
“It’s probably not going to be 50 years, let’s be honest. But one can hope,” she said. “If I do have the good fortune to live more than a year, I want to spend it working and living and doing what I love. I don’t want to sit on the couch for two years and watch Netflix.”
As many people living with cancer know, every day is different. There are good days and bad days, and for now, it’s good to know that Bose is still moving forward with her plans, and is still holding out hope. As she points out in another one her posts, she is a stage 4 cancer patient going through med school during a global pandemic. With that kind of courage, she has already won.
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Cancer Brings a Change in Perspective
Survivor Kara Ladd was diagnosed with synovial sarcomawhich is a different type of sarcoma than Bose has, it starts in the soft tissue, such as muscle or ligamentsat 24 years old. She was living the life in New York City in the Meatpacking District, and then everything changed overnight.
“I had all my best friends around me. I just got my dream job as an editor,” Ladd told SurvivorNet. “And when I was diagnosed, my life came to a screeching halt.”
Ladd was working in high fashion before she was diagnosed with cancer. “I was running myself wild and I was working too hard. My life was moving at such a fast pace and I didn’t know how to stop,” she said. “And when I was diagnosed with cancer, I was forced to pause and figure out who I really was and what my purpose was and what my path laid before me look like.”
Her doctor told her that she wouldn’t be able to wear heels again. She wouldn’t be able to run again. No yoga. “And I just remember looking at him and being like, you don’t know me. I’ll be just fine,” she said. “You know, I truly see the world in an entirely different way now after cancer. It’s really changed my perspective. Your life can change within a matter of seconds.”
Bold, Bald & Beautiful Kara Ladd Met a New Version of Herself After Her Sarcoma Diagnosis
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