Young Sarcoma Survivor Embraces Life After Battling Cancer

“Follow your passion. Stay true to yourself,” said valedictorian Donna Wilson to her fellow high school graduates in her home country of Jamaica.

During what should have been a time of celebration for the 17-year-old, Wilson was hit with a devastating diagnosis after experiencing flu-like symptoms.

I remember saying to my mom, “Mommy, when I go home, I am just going to go sleep,” Wilson said.

The teen had sarcoma, a rare cancer that originated in her right lung and spread to other parts of her body and her brain. Her family traveled from Jamaica to Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center to meet with Gina D’Amato, M.D., a medical oncologist specializing in treating sarcomas.

“Sarcomas are cancers of connective tissue. It’s a rare type of tumor that can start out anywhere in your body. So bones, muscle, fat, cells that surround blood vessels, cells that surround organs,” Dr. D’Amato explained. “There are many different kinds of sarcomas, over 170 different types. The type of sarcoma that she has, is a rare type of sarcoma called Inflammatory Myofibroblastic Tumor. Very rare. And it could mimic a lymphoma.”

Sylvester Offers Sarcoma Patients Targeted Therapies

Because sarcoma is rare, Dr. D’Amato says it is critical for patients to get a proper diagnosis at a Cancer Center of Excellence like Sylvester. That can lead to targeted therapies like the one Wilson received, which provide patients with better outcomes.

“Once it’s spread to the brain, that’s when I thought we need to add in the immunotherapy. We see just because it goes to the brain, it’s okay, we can still have treatments, and you still have hope,” said Dr. D’Amato.

Sylvester brings a team of sarcoma experts together to determine the best treatment for each patient.

“We’re all a team. We have tumor boards, molecular sarcoma tumor boards on Tuesdays and Thursdays, one’s an hour and one’s an hour and a half, where we present cases that need extra help. We present new cases. And then anytime there’s a major decision needed to be made about the patient, we present it at the conference,” Dr. D’Amato said.

Wilson had surgery to remove the tumor and is on a combination of immunotherapy and oral chemotherapy. She’s sharing a message of hope during Sarcoma Awareness Month.

“I thought I was going to die. Here I am now sitting before you, telling my story. Just keep on pushing. God will carry you through,” said Wilson.

She is grateful to Dr. D’Amato and the Sylvester team for giving her and other sarcoma patients hope for the future.

“She’s more than a doctor to me. To me, she’s my friend,” Wilson said.

Video transcript compiled by Janna Ross for ‘Focusing on You: Innovations in Modern Medicine,’ a series of health care-related stories airing regularly on WPLG Local 10.  For more stories like this one, visit UHealth’s YouTube channel.

Tags: connective tissue cancers, Dr. Gina D’Amato, focusing on you, inflammatory myofibroblastic tumor, oncologist, sarcoma, sarcomas