When Jeff read on his patient portal that his biopsy came back positive for cancer, the news put him into a “tailspin.”
“I’m an engineer, and I’m kind of a type-A personality,” says Jeff, 43, of Dillsburg, Pa. “I need a schedule and a plan, and I always have a backup plan. This was a card that I was dealt where I was so lost. It was like, ‘I don’t know what the next step is.’”
Diagnosed with myxoid liposarcoma of the left thigh in April 2024, Jeff began treatment soon afterward at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center and UPMC Orthopaedic Care in Central Pa. After undergoing chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, Jeff was cancer-free by late fall.
Jeff is thankful to his entire care team.
“I felt like I was where I needed to be, with the best care, with the best doctors that I had,” Jeff says. “I was definitely going through some mental challenges, but having that team of folks was the perfect situation I could have been in.”
A Cancer Diagnosis
Jeff is married with twin teenage sons and works as an engineer for an electric company in central Pennsylvania.
In spring 2023, Jeff noticed an odd lump on his left inner thigh. He mentioned it to his family doctor at his annual visit soon after, but they told him it was likely scar tissue.
Still, he continued to notice the lump throughout the remainder of the year. He mentioned it to his dermatologist at his annual checkup in December, and they recommended an ultrasound.
Jeff had an ultrasound in January 2024, and based on his results, scheduled a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) test. The MRI showed a mass in his thigh, so his family doctor referred him to general surgery. However, general surgery referred him to UPMC Orthopaedic Care for musculoskeletal oncology.
“Hearing that was a little scary because I’m thinking, ‘Well, I know what oncology is, and that’s cancer-related,’” Jeff says.
At his appointment in February 2024, he was scheduled for a biopsy in early March.
As he waited for the biopsy results, Jeff found it hard to concentrate on anything else.
“I found myself checking my portal probably 10 times a day just to see if something came in,” he says. “It was the only thing I was focused on. It was hard to concentrate at work. I was physically present, but mentally, I was somewhere else.
“That was probably mentally the hardest thing in my life that I’ve ever been through.”
The biopsy came back positive for myxoid liposarcoma, a type of sarcoma that begins in the fat cells.
“I Googled what it was, and obviously, it was cancer,” Jeff says. “That’s when things started setting in, like, ‘Holy cow. This is quite the shock to the system here.’”
Setting a Course for Treatment
Three days after getting the worrying biopsy results, Jeff returned for a follow-up musculoskeletal oncology visit.
He was told that although his cancer was rare, it was treatable — especially if it hadn’t spread. He says he appreciated the time that was taken to thoroughly explain everything and outline a treatment plan.
First, Jeff attended a telehealth consultation with Benjamin Nacev, MD, a medical oncologist at UPMC Hillman Cancer Center in Pittsburgh. Dr. Nacev, a specialist in sarcoma treatment, recommended that Jeff undergo six rounds of chemotherapy, followed by radiation and surgery.
Although he hadn’t expected to need chemotherapy, Jeff trusted his care team.
“It was like, ‘If this is what has worked in the past with these situations, I’m all for it, and hopefully chemo won’t be too bad,’” he recalls.
Beginning Chemotherapy
After getting a port put in, Jeff began chemotherapy with Scott Felter, DO, at UPMC Community Osteopathic.
He says his care team warned him at the outset that the side effects from his treatment would likely worsen over time.
“Everyone kind of prepared me,” Jeff says. “They (said), ‘You’re relatively young, you’re in pretty good shape, you should be OK.’”
Jeff underwent the six rounds of chemotherapy. He tried to keep himself busy at the hospital by working and taking walks. His family and friends were frequent visitors to support him.
As time went on, he began to deal with the side effects of chemo. He experienced nausea, for which his team gave him anti-nausea medication. He also began to feel very fatigued and lose his hair, first on his head and then on his arms, legs, eyebrows, and eyelashes.
“I see pictures at the beginning of my sixth cycle, and I’m completely hairless,” he says. “There’s no hair anywhere. That was wild to get used to.”
Jeff developed an infection in his port in July 2024, between his fourth and fifth rounds of chemotherapy. His team gave him three weeks off from treatment to treat his infection.
When treatment resumed, Jeff got his final two rounds of chemotherapy through a peripherally inserted central catheter (PICC) line.
“I think that was a blessing in disguise because my fourth round of chemotherapy was, by far, the worst,” he said. “It allowed me to kind of recover for those three weeks, and when I went back in for my fifth cycle, it was definitely not as bad as my fourth.”
Jeff was especially grateful to his care team at the hospital, who helped keep his spirits high during a difficult time.
“My nurses were so caring, fun, and thoughtful; they even decorated my room for my final round of chemo,” he says. “Chemo was no joke, but knowing I’d be spending those days in the hospital with all of them as my nurses made such a sucky experience somewhat enjoyable.”
Finishing His Treatment
After Jeff finished chemotherapy, he began radiation treatment with Christopher Haskins, MD.
He underwent 18 radiation treatments, each typically lasting about 15 minutes.
Compared to chemotherapy, Jeff says radiation had far fewer side effects.
“They thought maybe it would make me tired, but that was a cakewalk compared to what chemo was,” he says. “I’m glad I got through the hardest part first, and then radiation wasn’t too bad.”
After he completed radiation, Jeff underwent musculoskeletal oncology surgery.
He was told that surgery could last four to five hours, and he might need to stay in the hospital for a few days. However, he ended up needing to spend only one night in the hospital. He was able to walk with a walker soon after his surgery.
“I think what they did probably mentally prepared me for the worst, and it obviously worked out better than that,” Jeff says.
Recovering Well After Treatment
Six months after his surgery, Jeff is doing well. He had his first postsurgical scans in February, which came back clear, providing a huge relief.
After getting his surgical drain and stitches removed, he was able to participate in his winter golf simulator league.
He says he tried to avoid pushing his body too hard while he recovered. For example, he didn’t start jogging or running again until March, four months after surgery.
“I like to go to the gym and lift weights, and I knew I couldn’t do a lot of leg exercises, which was OK,” he says. “But I was able to get back golfing, and I played in my winter league until the end of March. At that point, I would say it was 90% healed.”
By the time May came around, Jeff says he felt 100%.
Throughout his entire cancer journey, Jeff says he felt very supported by his care team, including his physicians, the team of nurses, physician assistants, nurse navigators, and more.
“It was probably the best care I’ve ever had with any type of hospital stay or any type of relationship with health care providers,” he says. “From the nurse navigator, Allison Sherer, to the physician assistant, Alexandra Volovar, I was so thankful to have such caring, friendly, and knowledgeable people in my corner.”
“To be dealt the news I was given, having that team of four doctors and their staff, everybody was beyond amazing. I never really experienced that before. It was a lot easier to digest what I was going through because of them.”
Editor's Note: This article was originally published on , and was last reviewed on .