As many of you know, Andrew was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma (bone cancer) November 2017. He endured 29 weeks of chemotherapy, 3 surgeries, 108 overnight stays in the hospital and countless admissions to the hospital over an 8 month period. On July 6 he was discharged from the hospital after receiving his last chemo. By the grace of God, on July 10 he was deemed NED (no evidence of disease). We understand how fortunate Andrew has been. We are hopeful he will continue to live a long, healthy life without reocurrence.
However, the reality of what this aggresive cancer can do to the children (and sometimes adults) it effects is devastating. Here are some facts to help you understand:
1. There are 800-900 new cases of Osteosarcoma each year
2. Longterm survival rate, if no metatastasis at diagnosis is 70-75%, with mets survival rate is 30%.
3. Liklihood of reocurrence is 30-50% for those with initial localized disease and 80% for those presenting with metastatic disease
3. Treatment for Osteosarcom is high dose chemo (Methotrexate, Doxorubicin and Cisplatin). These children receive some of the highest cumulative doses of these toxic drugs which can cause permanent heart damage, lung damage, hearing loss, kidney damage and infertility and secondary cancers just to same a few.
4. Surgical treatment for Osteosarcoma now favors limb salvaging surgery which removes the tumor within the bone and replaces the bone with a metal implant. While this saves these children from losing a limb they are left with lifelong mobiltiy restrictions and limitations. For most children contact sports are no longer an option. For some children, approx 20%, amputation is the only option.
5. Treatment for Osteosarcoma with Chemotherapy was identified from 1960 - 1980. The treatment that Andrew, and all other Osteosarcoma patients receive, HAS NOT CHANGED SINCE THEN. There has been no new treatment options to improve survival rates in almost 40 years!
6. CANCER IS THE NUMBER ONE CAUSE OF DEATH BY DISEASE AMONG CHILDREN. AND YET . . . .
Only 4% of the $198 milion in federal government cancer research funding goes to study pediatric cancer.
Please help me in not only raising awareness for Osteosarcoma and Pediatric Cancer but also help me in raising money to assist in the research and hopefully someday discovery of life saving treatments for these children. EVERY SINGE DOLLAR makes a difference and it all adds up!
Last year, with the help of YOU - TEAM ANDREW, we raised $5851 for the Outrunning Osteosarcoma 5K. I know with your help again I can match or hopefully beat that number for the Chicago Marathon!
All the money raised goes directly to the ANDREW BISAGA OSTEOSARCOMA RESEARCH FUND! 100% of your donation goes towards our goal of funding more research and hopefully improving or saving the lives of these children!
Thank you so much in advance for your support!
