Moving Quickly from Diagnosis to Treatment

During her summer break before seventh grade, Angie noticed a painful lump on her left arm. Because of her involvement in gymnastics, the family initially brushed it off as inflammation. When the pain worsened, Claudia took Angie to the doctor. After an X-ray, MRI, and biopsy, the unthinkable became reality for the Houston-based family.

On August 16, 2022, Angie was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare type of bone cancer that is most commonly found in children, adolescents, and young adults. Within two weeks, she started chemotherapy.

“We feel really blessed to have been at Texas Children’s Hospital,” Richard says. “She got all of her appointments and scans, the biopsy, and port installation and started chemo all within 14 days.”

Angie underwent six cycles of chemotherapy, 18 rounds in total, over the course of nine months. Three months in, she had limb salvage surgery to remove the majority of the humerus (upper arm bone) and most of her deltoid (shoulder muscle). Her humerus was replaced with part of her fibula (lower leg bone).

The Dilchers were grateful to have local access to one of the few surgeons in the world skilled at this procedure that would allow her bones to continue to grow with her as she gets older.

Making Friends at the Hospital

Osteosarcoma treatment meant long hospital stays from August through May.

“I could not see my friends, and I was really sad for the first month or two,” Angie recalls. “I did not leave my room or anything, but then I started to go out more.”

She discovered the hospital’s child life activities and found community there. “It was super fun. I met a lot of people in the hospital with different cancers, and I made friends with nurses and other people there,” she says. “I realized that being in my room and not doing anything was pointless, and I should have fun because I was not going to have these opportunities again.”

During treatment, Angie read a lot and practiced her drawing technique. She even turned her experience into a school science project, testing whether certain liquids might help her body clear chemotherapy drugs faster so she could go home sooner.

Returning to Life After Osteosarcoma

Angie’s determination helped her fight cancer.

“It was very hard at first. Having to go back and forth between home and hospital, being poked, and the effects of the chemo itself. I missed my friends and my old life,” she says. “But I did not give up.”

After cancer treatment, Angie spent nearly a year in physical and occupational therapy. Her biggest goal was returning to gymnastics. Her physical therapist warned it might not be possible, but Angie pressed on.

“I was really sad,” Angie says. “I love gymnastics.” Her coach told her that some people can do handsprings one-handed, so she worked on the skill.

“I can now do a handspring even with my arm, which does not have the full motion. And I can do backflips now,” she says. “I was not going to let cancer take away something I did not only like but loved.”

Lessons Learned

Before her own experience, Angie knew little about cancer. She encourages others to learn more about osteosarcoma as well as other cancers.

Now a high school sophomore, Angie reflects on her cancer journey with positivity and gratitude.

“Having cancer helped me learn to be a better person and understand hard realities and how to deal with them,” Angie says. “I learned to be strong and not be discouraged.”