Ten-year-old Diego Gonzalez spent months in severe leg pain before imaging revealed he had Ewing sarcoma, a rare bone cancer diagnosed in only 200 to 250 young people each year in the United States. Gonzalez, a patient at alex’s place, Sylvester’s state-of-the-art facility that provides cancer care to pediatric, adolescent and young adult patients, had a comprehensive team of specialists supporting him, including his surgeon, oncologist and basic and translational scientists leading the way in research on Ewing sarcoma. After an excellent response to chemotherapy, he underwent a 10-hour surgery in which the tumor was removed and his pelvis reconstructed under the care of Francis Hornicek, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., director of the Department of Orthopaedics. Gonzalez did well after surgery, and the team is hopeful he’ll never need radiation.
