In autumn, 1991, 12-year old Stacy Truta was an active youngster who enjoyed playing outdoors. Just a few weeks later, she began to experience pain and swelling in her right knee. After numerous tests and doctor visits, Stacy was diagnosed with osteogenic sarcoma--a type of bone cancer--in her right lower leg.

Stacy began treatment, which included more than a year of chemotherapy, as well as bone graft surgery and a full leg brace. Stacy also underwent intensive physical rehabilitation and learned to cope with the side effects of chemotherapy. "Seventh grade was not the ideal time to be bald! I was incredibly lucky to have a supportive family, school and peer group," she says, recalling that difficult year.

As grueling as Stacy's treatment was, she was able to avoid amputation of her leg, due to new surgical procedures unavailable just a few years earlier. An allograft (bone graft) procedure allowed the cancerous section of her bone to be replaced and rebuilt, using a cadaver bone from a bone bank. Stacy's doctor also placed a sliver of bone taken from Stacy's own body between the graft bone and the remaining tibia bone to encourage the two to grow together. At the time, this technique was used in only a few hospitals in the country.

The surgery not only saved Stacy's life by preventing the cancer from spreading, it permitted her to keep her own leg and walk without a limp. Although she must still avoid many weight-bearing exercises, Stacy has found other activities that do not harm her knee. She does low-impact exercises including yoga and cycling. In 2000, Stacy completed the 275-mile AIDS ride from Boston to New York City, raising more than $4,000 for AIDS charities.

Being a cancer survivor has affected Stacy's life in numerous ways. She has been a camp counselor for children with cancer, worked in a pediatric oncology ward in Costa Rica, and is now a second-year student at Harvard Medical School. "As a future physician, I hope to be an advocate for all patients," she says, "especially those with pediatric cancer and osteogenic sarcoma."

Stacy has been able to achieve her goals despite having two additional knee surgeries to reduce joint pain from osteoarthritis, a common outcome after bone replacement surgery. "After dealing with chemotherapy and surgery as a child or teenager, (osteogenic sarcoma) patients have to deal with joint pain and stiffness for the rest of their lives," Stacy notes. She hopes that new research on developing artificial cartilage or cartilage that can be re-grown and harvested from her own body will enable her to avoid total knee replacement surgery. Stacy also hopes that research on improving allograft surgery outcomes will allow osteogenic sarcoma survivors greater physical activity and increased mobility throughout their lives.