Six mothers share their children's triumphs over osteosarcoma

Six mothers have shared their deeply emotional journeys supporting their children through osteosarcoma, a challenging form of bone cancer. The children, ranging in age from 11 to 17, have overcome the ordeal, successfully completing treatments that included biopsies, surgeries, and chemotherapy, and are now resuming their lives.

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Alhamdulillah, his life is back to normal now, and he can even be active in sports like football, cycling, and badminton.

Nurliyana Abdullah, 40, from Bandar Baru Bangi, recounted the initial confusion when her eldest son, Muhammad Amsyar Azlan, then 10, developed a swelling on his left shoulder in 2022. Initially mistaken for a sports injury, the persistent and growing lump prompted a visit to a traditional healer, who advised an X-ray. The abnormal X-ray results led to further examination at a hospital in Kajang, where specialists' attention signaled a serious issue.

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I thought it was just a normal swelling and took him for a massage, but the masseur advised us to get an X-ray at the clinic first.

Muhammad Amsyar was referred to Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz (HCTM) at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia for an MRI and biopsy, confirming the osteosarcoma diagnosis. His treatment involved two cycles of chemotherapy, followed by bone replacement surgery in 2023, and then four more chemotherapy cycles. Nurliyana's anxiety resurfaced when cancer cells were suspected to have spread to his lungs, but further surgery and tests ruled this out.

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The doctor found that my son's X-ray results were not normal and asked me to go to the hospital for further examination.

"Alhamdulillah, his life is back to normal now, and he can even be active in sports like football, cycling, and badminton," Nurliyana shared, expressing gratitude to the medical team at HCTM. Despite missing a year of school, Muhammad Amsyar achieved 8A's in his KAFA assessment tests. Another mother, Nurshuhada Ahmad Zawawi, 32, from Sepang, also spoke of her near-despair when her eldest child was diagnosed in 2021, but found renewed strength to support her child through the treatment.

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I started to feel anxious when I saw a group of orthopedic specialists examining the report, and that's when I knew something was not right.