Teen’s sarcoma journey leads to Ohio State—and to a future helping others
An unexpected cancer journey led a teenager and her family to Ohio — and to a future filled with advocacy for patients in their home country.
Like many teenagers across the world in 2020, Andrea Najas was trying to fill her time amid pandemic-caused lockdowns in Ecuador. One of those attempts would lead to a life-changing diagnosis.
“I started to do some workouts and started moving a lot more, and I developed this strange, sharp pain above my knee,” Andrea recalls. “I didn't think much of it at first, but one afternoon, I couldn't move my leg at all. That's when I started to get really concerned.”
After a trip to a physical therapist led to an MRI, Andrea received news no teen expects to hear.
“I heard one of the doctors say, ‘Don't go to the orthopedist — go to an oncologist.’ That's how I found out that I was diagnosed with cancer.”
The news shocked the entire family, including Andrea’s father, Jose Ricardo Najas.
“We're pretty much a normal family. We have three daughters — Andrea's the youngest of them. We had a very normal life,” Jose Ricardo says. “In September 2020, things started to change. For me, it was like I got hit with a baseball bat in the head, and after that somebody just threw me in a bucket of ice. It was just a scary time.”
After the initial shock of the diagnosis subsided, Jose Ricardo reached out to an old friend who happened to work at the OSUCCC – James at The Ohio State University.
“We bought the tickets the next day, and we were in Columbus on Saturday,” he says. “We met with Dr. Mayerson on Monday, and then Tuesday she got her surgery — her biopsy — and that's when we got confirmation that she had an osteosarcoma.”
The Najas family’s quick decision to travel to Ohio for Andrea’s treatment was made in large part because of the advantages in technology and resources in the U.S. The James’ sarcoma program — led by Andrea’s doctor, Joel Mayerson, MD — is among the world’s leaders in the treatment of this cancer group, which disproportionately affects young patients.
“Younger patients that have cancer have special needs — maybe they’re going to school, or they may have a job — we address those with our adolescent and young adult (AYA) program,” Mayerson says. “We make sure that we get counseling for them if they need it. We get help with their work if they need it. We get them access to social workers to help with the challenges of dealing with cancer at such a young age, and that support system that exists here at The James allows us, as physicians, to optimize their care.”
Those services became a core component of Andrea’s treatment as she adjusted to life as a cancer patient in a new country.
“Having psychological help is very important — having someone that is a professional in the area, just to calm you down and take you through the whole situation,” she says. “Hearing the word cancer when you're a teenager is a lot. So having someone walk you through the process and just bring peace in a time of not so much peace is very important.”
In addition to the AYA program, the Najases partnered with The James Destination Medicine team to temporarily settle down in Columbus.
“Our Destination Medicine team is able to help us get the infrastructure we need to help our international patients,” Mayerson says. “Some people need language interpreters, some need support to find places to stay, and it really is important for their care that they have all of those things, especially if they're traveling a long distance.”
The program helped the Najases make Ohio a second home-base for the entire family during Andrea’s treatment.
“A surprise for me was we could actually make Columbus a home to us,” Andrea says. “I remember I always had visitors from my family coming. My sister who lives in New York came to Columbus once a month. My sister from Ecuador flew in once every two months. Having them here was the best thing — we even had the dogs here. We could build a home here in Columbus too.”
Andrea’s treatment team also provided needed comfort, especially Mayerson, who served as a calming presence in addition to a talented physician and surgeon.
“I always tell my friends, ‘Dr. Mayerson is the best. He's my guardian angel."’ I remember when I was going to start treatment, I was very frustrated, very confused — I didn't want to know anything. I went into Dr. Mayerson's office and just started crying, and he said, ‘Treatment and surgery are going to be difficult, but try to look at the glass as half full rather than half empty,’” Andrea says. “That's when my perspective changed, and I was like, ‘What positive things can I get out of this situation?’ So, just having that relationship with Dr. Mayerson brought me, and I think my whole family, a lot of comfort.”
Andrea’s new perspective led her — and eventually, her family and Mayerson — to start an effort to improve sarcoma care in Ecuador.
“Andrea's light bulb went on and she said, ‘Why don't we do something to, first of all, create awareness of what osteosarcoma is, and the second thing, to help with operations on patients,” Jose Ricardo says. “With cancer, you cannot have a schedule, so Dr. Mayerson suggested the start of tumor boards.”
The initial plan has grown to focus on training for oncologists in Ecuador to better diagnosis and treat sarcoma in the country.
“We agreed that it would be great to try to see if we could get the necessary care for the citizens of Ecuador in their own country, for those who might not be able to come to the United States to get that care,” Mayerson says. “Now we're working on building that infrastructure to have one of the physicians from Ecuador come and train here to see what multidisciplinary care is at The James and take that information back to Ecuador to their colleagues.”
As Andrea continues to transition to survivorship and advocacy, she’s encouraging others to be aware of the symptoms of potential health issues, no matter their ages.
“If something weird is happening with your body, it's very important to go check it out as fast as you can, just so you know you're good or you're catching anything in time,” she says. “If something is not normal, the best idea is check it out with a doctor as a first option instead of ignoring it. That's my advice to anyone, be it a kid, teenager or adult — just never ignore your symptoms.”
When cancer diagnoses do occur, Jose Ricardo advises patients to get informed quickly in order to make the best treatment choices possible.
“Research your medical team and where you want to get treated,” he says. “People in Ohio are lucky to have a place like The James. It's a wonderful place — wonderful doctors, wonderful human beings.”
Inspired by her treatment team, Andrea and her family are working to raise the standard of care in Ecuador and beyond.
“Everybody deserves the opportunity to have the best health care. When it comes to cancer, it's very complex — you have to look at machinery and medicine and everything,” she says. “Raising awareness and capability of that, I think, will help bring a lot of opportunities to have all the tools and treatments to give everybody the best care that they deserve.”
Click to learn more about adolescent and young adult cancer care and support at the OSUCCC – James.