“It felt like someone had a knife and was carving my knee,” Jared Sylvester says of the pain in his leg. A few days after a scan revealed Sylvester had an osteosarcoma (a bone cancer), he and his family met with Joel Mayerson, MD, director of the OSUCCC – James Sarcoma Program and one of the world’s leading sarcoma surgeons. “My whole family was packed into his office, and Dr. Mayerson has probably the best bedside manner,” says Sylvester, who was 21 at the time and a student at Miami University (Ohio). “He gave us all the time we needed, answered all our questions and was frank about my options — having him as my surgeon was one of my greatest blessings.” Making a decision Sylvester was diagnosed in 2010 and had the option of an above-the-knee amputation and prosthesis, rotationplasty or limb-sparing surgery. He decided on the limb-sparing surgery, in which Mayerson would replace his knee and implant metal rods that would connect a prosthesis to his thigh and shin bones. “Having [Mayerson] as my surgeon, and the time we spent together before the surgery with him walking me through the procedure, gave me a lot of confidence in him and his team — and that I’d be able to walk again,” Sylvester says. He underwent the surgery, which was preceded and followed by rounds of chemotherapy. Hear more about Jared Sylvester’s cancer journey and connection with his surgeon on our James Cancer-Free World Podcast in the video player above. Advances in sarcoma surgery Over the past few decades, advances in chemotherapy, protheses and surgical procedures have led to better outcomes and improved functionality and quality of life for patients with sarcomas, rare forms of cancer that start in the soft tissue and bones of the arms and legs. “They destroy the tissue and bones they’re in and have to be removed, leaving a functional deficit in patients,” Mayerson says. Mayerson was the first orthopedic oncology surgeon in this country to implant an expandable femur prosthesis in the leg of a young and still-growing patient. This prosthesis can be lengthened without a surgical procedure as the young patient matures and grows. He is also a leader in a surgical technique known as rotationplasty. This is a complex procedure in which the surgeon removes the cancerous middle section of a patient’s leg, including the knee, and then reattaches the lower portion of the leg, rotating it 180 degrees. “The ankle then works as a knee, as a moveable joint, and the foot serves as the shin,” Mayerson said, adding the advantage of a rotationplasty, compared to an above-the-knee amputation and prosthesis is “that it will then only require about 20 percent more energy to walk as compared to 70 percent more effort for patients with an above-the-knee amputation and prosthesis.” Mayerson has performed 12 rotationplasty surgeries and said that an average of about 10 to 12 are performed every year nationally. In recent years, Mayerson has helped introduce a new type of shoulder replacement surgery for sarcoma patients. “In the past, if a patient had a sarcoma in the shoulder joint, there was not a good way to remove the bone and replace the rotator cuff and make the shoulder functional,” he explained. “A new technique, a reverse total shoulder replacement, was developed. Normally, the ball is at the end of the humerus bone and the shoulder is the socket. We reversed that and can create a ball at the end of the shoulder blade and a socket on the humerus side, which allows the deltoid muscle to pull them together, and people get some really good shoulder and arm function.” The recovery Undergoing chemotherapy and physical therapy at the same time in the months after Jared’s surgery was exhausting but necessary. “It took several months to break down the scar tissue and build up my strength and learn to walk, and a good nine months to feel comfortable walking.” Sylvester says, adding that he now feels quite comfortable walking, working out and has replaced running with cycling. He met Melissa, his future wife, during his cancer treatment, and the couple recently celebrated the arrival of a daughter, Lucy. Being diagnosed with cancer at 21 and his subsequent treatment “matures you in ways you could never imagine,” Sylvester says. “My journey hasn’t been easy, but I’m thankful for [the experience] and the perspective it’s given me for life and friendships and relationships.” Sylvester and Mayerson both ride in Pelotonia, the yearly bike ride that has raised more than $208 million for cancer research at the OSUCCC – James. “To have the opportunity to ride in Pelotonia is amazing,” Sylvester says. “And my favorite Pelotonia experience is getting to ride 50 miles with the doctor who saved my life.” Riding with Sylvester is equally rewarding for Mayerson. “The reason I went into this field was to save lives and also help patients have the best possible quality of life and enjoy life,” he says. “That’s my greatest satisfaction.”