[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/07\/jeffs-orthopaedic-oncology-journey\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/07\/jeffs-orthopaedic-oncology-journey\/","headline":"Jeff\u2019s Orthopaedic Oncology Journey","name":"Jeff\u2019s Orthopaedic Oncology Journey","description":"<p>Jeff was diagnosed with liposarcoma in his left thigh in April 2024. After undergoing chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, he is cancer-free and feeling well.<\/p>","datePublished":"2025-07-22","dateModified":"2026-02-23","author":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/hillman.upmc.com\/","name":"UPMC Hillman Cancer Center","url":"https:\/\/hillman.upmc.com\/","sameAs":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/upmc-hillman-cancer-center\/","parentOrganization":"UPMC"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"UPMC HealthBeat","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-139887586-e1752869132598.jpg","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/GettyImages-139887586-e1752869132598.jpg","height":866,"width":2000},"url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/07\/jeffs-orthopaedic-oncology-journey\/","about":["Cancer Care","Health Topics A-Z","Orthopaedics"],"wordCount":1386,"articleBody":"When Jeff read on his patient portal that his biopsy came back positive for cancer, the news put him into a \u201ctailspin.\u201d\u201cI\u2019m an engineer, and I\u2019m kind of a type-A personality,\u201d says Jeff, 43, of Dillsburg, Pa. \u201cI 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, \u2018I don\u2019t know what the next step is.\u2019\u201dDiagnosed with\u00a0myxoid liposarcoma\u00a0of the left thigh in April 2024, Jeff began treatment soon afterward at\u00a0UPMC Hillman Cancer Center\u00a0and\u00a0UPMC Orthopaedic Care\u00a0in Central Pa. After undergoing chemotherapy, radiation, and surgery, Jeff was cancer-free by late fall.Jeff is thankful to his entire care team.\u201cI felt like I was where I needed to be, with the best care, with the best doctors that I had,\u201d Jeff says. \u201cI was definitely going through some mental challenges, but having that team of folks was the perfect situation I could have been in.\u201dA Cancer DiagnosisJeff 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\u00a0UPMC Orthopaedic Care for musculoskeletal oncology.\u201cHearing that was a little scary because I\u2019m thinking, \u2018Well, I know what oncology is, and that\u2019s cancer-related,\u2019\u201d 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.\u201cI found myself checking my portal probably 10 times a day just to see if something came in,\u201d he says. \u201cIt 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.\u201cThat was probably mentally the hardest thing in my life that I\u2019ve ever been through.\u201dThe biopsy came back positive for myxoid liposarcoma, a type of\u00a0sarcoma\u00a0that begins in the fat cells.\u201cI Googled what it was, and obviously, it was cancer,\u201d Jeff says. \u201cThat\u2019s when things started setting in, like, \u2018Holy cow. This is quite the shock to the system here.\u2019\u201dSetting a Course for TreatmentThree 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 \u2014 especially if it hadn\u2019t 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\u00a0Benjamin Nacev, MD, a medical oncologist at\u00a0UPMC Hillman Cancer Center\u00a0in Pittsburgh. Dr. Nacev, a specialist in sarcoma treatment, recommended that Jeff undergo six rounds of chemotherapy, followed by radiation and surgery.Although he hadn\u2019t expected to need chemotherapy, Jeff trusted his care team.\u201cIt was like, \u2018If this is what has worked in the past with these situations, I\u2019m all for it, and hopefully chemo won\u2019t be too bad,&#8217;\u201d he recalls.Beginning ChemotherapyAfter getting a port put in, Jeff began chemotherapy with\u00a0Scott Felter, DO, at\u00a0UPMC Community Osteopathic.He says his care team warned him at the outset that the side effects from his treatment would likely worsen over time.\u201cEveryone kind of prepared me,\u201d Jeff says. \u201cThey (said), \u2018You\u2019re relatively young, you\u2019re in pretty good shape, you should be OK.\u2019\u201dJeff 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.\u201cI see pictures at the beginning of my sixth cycle, and I\u2019m completely hairless,\u201d he says. \u201cThere\u2019s no hair anywhere. That was wild to get used to.\u201dJeff 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.\u201cI think that was a blessing in disguise because my fourth round of chemotherapy was, by far, the worst,\u201d he said. \u201cIt 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.\u201dJeff was especially grateful to his care team at the hospital, who helped keep his spirits high during a difficult time.\u201cMy nurses were so caring, fun, and thoughtful; they even decorated my room for my final round of chemo,\u201d he says. \u201cChemo was no joke, but knowing I\u2019d be spending those days in the hospital with all of them as my nurses made such a sucky experience somewhat enjoyable.\u201dFinishing His TreatmentAfter Jeff finished chemotherapy, he began radiation treatment with\u00a0Christopher Haskins, MD.He underwent 18 radiation treatments, each typically lasting about 15 minutes.Compared to chemotherapy, Jeff says radiation had far fewer side effects.\u201cThey thought maybe it would make me tired, but that was a cakewalk compared to what chemo was,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m glad I got through the hardest part first, and then radiation wasn\u2019t too bad.\u201dAfter 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.\u201cI think what they did probably mentally prepared me for the worst, and it obviously worked out better than that,\u201d Jeff says.Recovering Well After TreatmentSix 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\u2019t start jogging or running again until March, four months after surgery.\u201cI like to go to the gym and lift weights, and I knew I couldn\u2019t do a lot of leg exercises, which was OK,\u201d he says. \u201cBut 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.\u201dBy 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.\u201cIt was probably the best care I\u2019ve ever had with any type of hospital stay or any type of relationship with health care providers,\u201d he says. \u201cFrom 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.\u201d\u201cTo 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.\u201dEditor's Note: This article was originally published on July 22, 2025, and was last reviewed on February 23, 2026.Sources"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2025","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"07","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/\/07\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Jeff\u2019s Orthopaedic Oncology Journey","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2025\/07\/jeffs-orthopaedic-oncology-journey\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]