Ellie Downes (27 years old) is a police officer in York city (UK). She first felt pain in her left knee in October 2020, according to the Daily Mail (UK).
Ellie Downes had no idea that her knee pain was a symptom of bone cancer.
In March 2021, she went to see her family doctor for a check-up and was diagnosed with a strain and sprain in her knee. In addition, she also suffered ligament damage, which occurs when the connective tissue between two bones is overstretched and torn. The doctor referred her to a physical therapist and recommended rest and limited movement to help her recover soon.
However, the physiotherapist found something wrong and ordered Ellie to have a CT scan of her left knee. The scan showed a 10cm tumor growing on the tibia, near the knee. The tibia is the second longest bone in the body, running from just below the knee down to the ankle.
A biopsy later revealed that Ellie had osteosarcoma, the most common type of bone cancer. It occurs when a bone cell that normally grows normally mutates and becomes a cancerous tumor. Most of these tumors develop around the knee. The disease is characterized by pain, stiffness, easy bruising and fractures.
Statistics show that if the cancer has not metastasized, the survival rate is 70 to 75%. In the case of metastasis, such as spreading to the lungs or other bone areas, the survival rate is only about 30%.
When she received the diagnosis, Ellie was shocked. "It took me months to accept the truth," Ellie said.
Fortunately, the cancer had not spread. As soon as the diagnosis was made, doctors quickly removed the tumor and part of Ellie's tibia and knee joint. She then continued chemotherapy until October 2022 to completely destroy the remaining cancer cells in her body.
But just two months later, tests revealed she had lung cancer and two new tumors in her bones. She went on to undergo a second round of chemotherapy, which ended in April 2023. Before this round of chemotherapy, she went to a clinic to freeze her eggs.
Ellie and her boyfriend plan to get married in early 2025. She is currently recovering well and plans to use these frozen eggs for in vitro fertilization if her fertility is unfortunately affected by chemotherapy, according to the Daily Mail.
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