Lee Neal age 38 and his wife Jessica age 35 were on holiday when they noticed a slight swelling in their toddler’s eye. Sixteen months later, their baby died.
Now Jessica is reaching out through MSN and urging other parents to trust their instincts. In their baby Ted’s case, the “swelling” was cancer. Although they initially suspected that the irritation was caused by sand in his eye, Jessica followed her instincts and insisted that they investigate further.
Within one week Ted’s face changed completely. The baby underwent tests that revealed one of his sinuses harbored a cancerous tumor (sarcoma). The cancer was so rare that until January of 2022 it had been unnamed. According to the NIH, only eight hundred cases have been reported worldwide.
The toddler was treated with chemotherapy and subsequent surgery. His cancer was given a name: mesenchymal chondrosarcoma occurring in his ethmoid sinus.
The doctors were unable to stop Ted’s cancer from spreading. The cancer then metastasized to the brain and spinal cord. He was sixteen months old when he died.
Jessica is grateful that they went to the hospital at the first signs of an abnormality as it gave the family eight months more to spend with Ted. She said that Ted was a warrior through it all. He remained a happy baby in spite of the grueling treatments.
Jessica is a product developer living with her family in Calverton, Nottingham UK. She urges other parents to be proactive so doctors have a better chance to detect their child’s illness earlier.
Jessica and her family will cherish memories of Ted forever.
Subdivisions of Mesenchymal Chondrosarcoma
According to the National Institute of Health, The disease, an uncommon form of chondrosarcoma, is rare and often an aggressive type of cancer.
The conventional type is usually a type of bone cancer arising from cartilage cells. Approximately 2/3 of mesenchymal chondrosarcoma affect bones. When mesenchymal chondrosarcoma metastasizes to other body parts complications may be life-threatening.
Symptoms
Mesenchymal chondrosarcoma’s symptoms vary in accordance with the tumor’s location as well as its progression. The tumor may develop in many different sites although about one-third of cases develop outside of the bone and may affect the central nervous system or muscle.
The majority of symptoms are vague and therefore diagnosis may be delayed. But a large tumor may press against the spinal cord and cause paralysis.
If a tumor occurs in the eye socket it may cause swelling, and pain and cause the eyeball to protrude.
The Cause Has Not Been Established
Mesenchymal chondrosarcoma remains a mystery. Investigators continue to conduct basic research into the factors that cause the cancer. An answer may be found in oncogenes that control cell growth or tumor suppressor genes that ensure the timely death of cells.
New research points to abnormalities of DNA that carries the body’s genetic code as the underlying basis of cellular malignant transformation.
No New News
Mesenchymal chondrosarcoma was described as early as 1959 yet only about 800 cases have been reported in medical records. The tumor is mostly found in young children or older adults with females affected slightly more often than men. The cancer occurs in approximately ten percent of cases of chondrosarcoma.
