Osteo Guide

Osteosarcoma: A Practitioner's Quick Reference Guide

Lindy Eddinger

[Editor's Note: Lindy Eddinger is a Health Care Social Work graduate student at the University of Houston. She decided to go back to graduate school after losing her son Brandon DuPont to osteosarcoma three years ago. Lindy told me, "He only met one other person in his age group during that time. To honor him in his fight, I decided that taking the lessons learned from his battle and applying them to help other people battling cancer was a positive way to honor his memory. I know he watches over me to make sure I don't give up on my dream!".]

The purpose of the Osteosarcoma: A Practitioner's Quick Reference Guide is to arm the social work professional with an arsenal of information on a wide variety of healthcare issues that can be used in the Health Care Social Work practice setting. The quick summary is also useful to patients and family members who might use it as a framework for discussions with their providers. The Guide was developed for an assignment in my Social Work Practice course that required us to select a healthcare issue of our choosing, research it and provide an overview of the disease or condition emphasizing the psychosocial aspects. My interest in osteosarcoma comes from the fact that my own son was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in 2001 and passed away in September of 2003 at the age of 22. This is also a driver in my becoming an Oncology Social Worker. When dealing with the overwhelming news of the diagnosis, we were simply unable to absorb all the information at even the most elementary level. Then, throughout my son’s illness, we struggled with identifying resources available to adolescent and young adult cancer patients. Even while being treated at a major comprehensive cancer center, he only met one other person even close to his age. He was too old for most of the resources available to children such as Make-A-Wish, but he was too young to qualify for Medicare benefits. This Quick Reference Guide can prove helpful in assisting others in similar situations.

The clinical information that is provided in the guide was obtained from the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, KidsHealth, and CancerIndex. Research on the psychosocial aspects of the disease was obtained through the University of Houston Graduate College Of Social Work, the Mayo Clinic and Caregiver Media Group.

As an active member of the Association of Cancer Online Resources-Osteosarcoma online support group (OSTEO-SARCOMA) for many years, I mentioned the Guide to the list members. Many of the members expressed interest in the piece, and as often happens in these groups, I began sending the Guide out to those who had expressed an interest. Many members mentioned how they wished that they had been given this information when they or their children had first been diagnosed. Several have provided copies of the guide to their respective oncology groups in hopes that others would be able to benefit. Although there is no end to the amount of information available about this disease, and although the Social Work professional is the primary target for the Guide, it is a useful, quick reference to the patients and their families when first faced with a diagnosis, an easy list of resources available, and a reminder that the normal psychosocial impact felt by the patient and the family can be managed and understood throughout the course of the disease.

Although this project started as a tool for my fellow students, interest has grown beyond that small circle. Consequently, I am giving further thought to how this information could best be disseminated to those who might benefit from it and express an interest. I will be enlisting the assistance of faculty members at the University of Houston along with contacts within the Texas Medical Center to determine methods of distribution within the medical community.

Click here to download a PDF copy of the Osteosarcoma: A Practitioner's Quick Reference Guide.

Editor's Closing Note

After seeing the quality of the Quick Reference Guide that Lindy developed, I approached her and asked her to write a short piece about it and to allow us to make it available for others to download from our website. I am hoping that her efforts may inspire other people to do something similar for other sarcoma subtypes. Lindy has indicated that she would be willing to assist in the development of similar guides.

We would appreciate receiving any comments or ideas about the Quick Reference Guide as well as pointers to similar guides that you may know about. Click here to send us a note.