It all started in December 2021. Courtney Echerd, an active young woman from Los Angeles working in the media, felt a dull pain in her left leg. Sporty and flexible, she worries that she can no longer touch her toes. “Previously, I could put my palms under my feet without any effort”she confides to Mirror.
From physiotherapy to cancer diagnosis
Initially, the medical profession was not alarmed: they prescribed gel, stretching and physiotherapy sessions. But the pain persists and his flexibility collapses.
It was the discovery of a small lump in the lower back that changed everything. Sent urgently for an MRI, Courtney falls into another world: that of oncology. The verdict is in: it is osteosarcoma, an aggressive form of bone cancer.
Hemipelvectomy, an extreme surgery
Faced with a tumor that does not shrink despite intensive chemotherapy, doctors announce the unthinkable: the leg cannot be recovered. Courtney must undergo a hemipelvectomy, one of the rarest and most severe amputations, including part of the pelvis.
“There are no words to explain how petrified I was“, she remembers. “I thought we could just shave the tumor off. I threw up when I found out amputation was possible“. Operated in January 2024, Courtney is today learning to live with a transformed body, supported by those close to her, while battling persistent nerve pain. She regularly shares her daily life on her Instagram account.
Osteosarcoma: why is diagnosis so difficult?
Courtney’s story illustrates a classic pitfall: confusing a sports injury with a bone tumor. Dr. Gérald Kierzek, emergency physician and medical director of True Medical, explains this phenomenon.
“An osteosarcoma can initially cause exactly the same pain as a ‘contracture’ or a growing pain, which explains why we sometimes simply recommend stretching at the start. What should be worrying is the pain which no longer follows the usual scenario of ordinary muscle pain.”
According to the expert, the pain is often moderate at first, intermittent, and linked to exercise. “We frequently find a ‘small trauma’ or a sporting context, which reinforces the idea of a trivial injury. Progress can be slow, with periods where things are a little better, which wrongly reassures the doctor, physiotherapist and family.”specifies Dr. Kierzek.
Warning signs that should prompt you to consult
How to tell the difference between simple tendinitis and a more serious pathology? Dr Gérald Kierzek draws up a list of symptoms which must lead to imaging (radio or MRI):
- Persistence. Pain that lasts several weeks without improvement despite rest and analgesics;
- The nocturnal character: “Pain present at rest or at night, waking you up or preventing you from sleeping, whereas a simple ache calms down at rest“, underlines the doctor;
- Fixed location: Deep pain, “in the bone”, always at the same point (tibia, femur, humerus);
- Physical signs: A swelling, a hard, warm “lump” near a joint, or a sudden limp.
The treatment of osteosarcoma is cumbersome, relying on neoadjuvant chemotherapy for 8 to 10 months followed by surgery. If in 90% of cases, the surgery is conservative, Dr. Kierzek reminds that “sometimes unfortunately, broad non-conservative surgery” is necessary to save the patient’s life.
Today, Courtney wants to turn her ordeal into a message of prevention. “You deserve to be defended. Never be afraid to push for imaging tests or change doctors“. Vigilance which, coupled with treatment in an expert center, today allows a cure rate of 70% for localized forms.