When twenty-five year-old Chinwendu arrived in April, 2010, it was obvious, from a single look, that she was a delightful woman-but one with a big problem. She had a tumor of the wrist that had destroyed her hand. Her ulnar bone was gone. The tumor was obviously a sarcoma of some type and amputation was the only treatment. Unfortunately, it would not be a cure. We proceeded with amputation and she recovered rapidly. She came back to see me in July, 2010 and was happy and looking well. In December, however, she developed a small metastasis on her leg that we removed. Several more appeared over the next six months and we
started her on chemotherapy. Overall, her prognosis is poor. Despite this, she remains upbeat.
The pathology showed rhabdomyosarcoma-a sarcoma in which the cancer cells arise from skeletal muscles