“Sarcoma is a condition that, while uncommon, is also very little known,” explains Luis Javier Floría, head of the Orthopedic Oncology Surgery Unit at Miguel Servet University Hospital. The specialist stresses that recognizing the first symptoms can be decisive: “If you make an early diagnosis, the prognosis is highly likely to be much better than if diagnosis is delayed over time.”
Floría recommends paying particular attention to pain that persists throughout the day and night, even at rest, as well as the appearance of a hard, deep and painful mass. In some patients, especially adolescents, it may initially be mistaken for a muscle strain or sports injury. “This is not about alarming the public,” the specialist clarifies, but about seeking medical advice when these symptoms persist or display unusual characteristics.
Once the diagnosis has been confirmed, treatment requires a multidisciplinary and specialized approach involving Orthopedics, General Surgery, Pathology, Nuclear Medicine, Plastic Surgery, Vascular Surgery, Medical Oncology and Radiation Oncology. In children and adolescents, in whom these tumors are more significant than in adults, surgery must also take the patient’s future growth into account.
ACTIVITIES FOR SARCOMA WEEK
In addition to the information stands at Miguel Servet Hospital, another was set up this Sunday in José Antonio Labordeta Grande Park, where patients, associations and healthcare professionals provide information and answer citizens’ questions.
Aragonese institutions have also joined the initiative by lighting various emblematic locations in yellow. La Aljafería was illuminated this week in the color that identifies sarcoma internationally, and the city’s fountains will also be lit up next Thursday. The week concludes this Thursday with a scientific conference at Lozano Blesa University Clinical Hospital in Zaragoza.
