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   Welcome to the Peter Skelton Sarcoma Research Foundation web site.  Our mission is to aid in raising awareness and funds to provide sarcoma patient's and sarcoma treatment centers with the much needed funding to care for sarcoma patient's and provide research money for these centers.  The lack of knowledge in the area of sarcoma is of great concern.  Research is desperately needed for this seriously devastating cancer.  Research, as you have witnessed in the area of breast cancer, can provide a better quality of life to those suffering at the current time by providing trials and treatments to fight their cancer and most importantly lead to a cure someday.  We lost our brother Peter in less than four months to a cancer we knew nothing about.  That barely gave us time to learn about, try to find help, and pray that the limited treatments available would help our brother.  We can't even imagine the thoughts our brother was having.  Please take the time to read "Peter's Story" by clicking on it to the left.  Sarcoma is becoming more and more prevalent every year.  It mostly affects children, between 15 and 20% of all cancer in children is sarcoma, and though rarer in adults, only 1%, is still life taking.  We need to do whatever possible to help fight this disease.  We hope this site can provide the basic information you may be looking for about sarcoma and also aid in finding a care center nearest you.  Please seek professional assistance as early as possible.  You may also notice a lot of sarcoma websites contain the color blue.  This is because Ewing's and pPNET sarcomas are composed of small-blue-round cells. 

WHAT IS SARCOMA 

Sarcoma is a cancer of the connective tissues; nerves, muscles, joints, bone, cartilage and blood vessels.  It can arise anywhere in the body and also be hidden deep in the limbs.  There are two basic categories of the sarcoma; soft tissue and non-soft tissue (bone).   Some sarcomas can be both, such as Ewing's Sarcoma.   There are over 50 subtypes of sarcoma.  Please refer to the subject "Types of Sarcoma" to your left to read about a specific type.  According to the American Cancer Society's Key Statistics About Sarcoma, the most common types of soft tissue sarcoma are: MFH or Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma (28%), liposarcoma (15%), LMS or leiomyosarcoma (12%), synovial sarcoma (10%), malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumors (6%), and rhabdomyosarcoma (5%).  All other types of soft tissue sarcoma occur at percentages of 3% or less.  The ACS' Key Statistics for Bone Cancer states that the most common types of bone cancer are osteosarcoma (35%), chondrosarcoma (26%), Ewing's bone sarcoma (16%), chordoma (8%), and malignant fibrous histiocytoma/fibrosarcoma (6%).  Other rare bone cancers account for the remaining 9%.

The American Cancer Society estimates that 9,420 new cases of soft tissue sarcoma were diagnosed in the United States in 2005, many in very young children and adolescents.  If this type of cancer is not treated successfully before it has a chance to spread from its original site in the body, the five-year survival rate is only 10% to 15%.  Proving the diagnostic methods and treatments available today are often just not enough. 

"[Sarcoma is] diagnosed in approximately 11,000 Americans each year" - Sarcoma Foundation of America. 

"In the adult population, sarcoma represents 1% of all new cancers diagnosed.  In children, it presents 15-20% of all childhood cancers" - Sarcoma Foundation of America.

TREATMENT OF SARCOMA

In general there are three basic ways sarcomas are treated:

* When possible, surgery to remove the cancer.

* Chemotherapy.

* Radiation.

It is possible multidisciplinary methods could be utilized in the treatment or pre and/or postoperatively chemotherapy and radiation.  It is important to note that the treatment depends solely on the type and progression of the tumor.  This can only be determined by a qualified doctor.  Seek professional medical help immediately.  Remember, the medical community does not know what causes sarcomas and there is no known cure.  Actually some sarcomas have reacted positively to treatments, but we are still a long way away from knowing the why's and how's. 

 

  
 

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