Hi, my name is Abby.
When I was 23 years old, I was diagnosed with an ultra-rare cancer known as alveolar soft part sarcoma. I first found it as what I thought to be a knot in the back of my leg from lifting weights. Cancer never crossed my mind at the time due to how young and active I was and have always been. Unfortunately, cancer does not discriminate and by the time it was found, it had already spread to my lungs and several bones, making it sage IV. To give an idea, itself makes up less than 1% of all cancers, and my specific subtype is less than 1% of that.
At first, everything moved fast. I went through several surgeries removing muscle and tissue from my leg after rounds of radiation, endless scans, lots of appointments and two drug trials. Every time I thought maybe things were getting better or medications were slowing things down, there seemed to be another obstacle. As time went on, more tiny metastases were found all over my body. Honestly, there were moments where I felt terrified of what my future would look like or how much longer I had.
After a failed trial of a chemodrug and immunotherapy combination with 6 months of slowing things down, I was told the medication was not working anymore. The check list for treatment was dwindling and I didn’t have much hope. Until a new treatment had just came out after passing clinical trials, that showed some positive results for many ASPS patients. Within weeks I started the immunotherapy known as atezolizumab, or Atezo. For the first time in a long time, I had hope again and within two infusions my Mets began to disappear.
About 15 months later, I reached what is now almost a complete remission and with over a year of no evidence of disease on this treatment, a long with minimal to no side effects.
Today, I’m 26 years old. I’m a college student and am able to work a full time job at the same hospital where I was first diagnosed. I live independently, and I’m running and lifting after being told there was a chance I may never walk normally again.
Word of Wisdom
Cancer changed my life in a lot of ways, but it also taught me something really important: your diagnosis does not define your limits. There were so many moments where I could have given up, and honestly, there were times I wanted to. But I kept going anyway. And being here today, healthy enough to run, speak, and share my story, is something I once thought might never happen. So if there’s one thing I hope people take away from my story, it’s this: miracles do happen. Mind set matters. And no matter how impossible things may feel in the moment, you are capable of more than you think.
