ARLINGTON, Wash. — Just days before her wedding in August, 25-year-old Zoe Spear was preparing for one of the happiest moments of her life. Instead, she received a life-changing diagnosis: bone cancer.
Spear said she had spent the summer focused on wedding plans and looking forward to becoming a bride.
“The whole summer, it was about my wedding,” Spear said. “It was so fun and cool to be the bride and all of that stuff.”
But, two days before the wedding, Spear went to a medical appointment to evaluate recurring pain in her left leg. Spear said doctors initially considered more common explanations.
“People think it’s joint pain or arthritis or torn meniscus,” Spear said.
At that appointment, Spear learned she had bone cancer.
“That was like the first day any doctor had told me confidently that I did have bone cancer,” Spear said.
Spear said one of the hardest parts of the diagnosis was sharing the news with her family and future husband, while trying to move forward with wedding celebrations.
“Obviously, I feel all of the things, because it’s happening to me, but it’s so bizarre watching people you love just be so sad for you,” Spear said.
For days, only a handful of people knew about the diagnosis.
“No one else in the world knew,” Spear said. “And that’s just like two days before the wedding of acting like nothing.”
According to Dr. Lara Davis at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, bone cancer is rare. Davis said approximately 200 young adults are diagnosed with osteosarcoma each year in the United States.
“About 200 people who are young adults are diagnosed with osteosarcoma every year,” Davis said.
As Spear’s condition progressed, walking became increasingly difficult.
“If I were to try and walk on both of my legs right now, I just wouldn’t,” Spear said.
After consultations with specialists at Fred Hutch, doctors determined the cancerous mass in her femur was too large to preserve the leg.
Davis said bone cancer can be difficult to identify early because symptoms may not immediately raise concerns.
“Usually, bone cancer doesn’t present with pain at first,” Davis said. “And sometimes it might be an injury that brings it to light.”
Ultimately, Spear learned that amputation offered the best chance to treat the cancer.
“Bottom line was it has to go,” Spear said.
When asked what it was like to hear she would lose her left leg at age 25, Spear replied, “Everything you can think of.”
Despite the devastating diagnosis, Spear said humor has helped her and her loved ones cope.
“If we don’t laugh, we cry,” Sper said. “I think we were cracking jokes the hour I had to break it to everyone.”
In one example, friends and family are planning what she jokingly calls a “last leg party” the night before surgery.
“With my amputation happening, we’re actually doing a ‘last leg party’ the night before my surgery,” Spear said.
Spear said support from her husband, family, and friends has been overwhelming. A friend has organized a GoFundMe campaign to help pay for medical expenses and recovery costs.
After publicly sharing her diagnosis online, Spear also found support from strangers, including other bone cancer patients and survivors who reached out with messages of encouragement.
“I find that I want a community,” Spear said in a video discussing her diagnosis.
That response has meant a great deal to her.
“It’s not taken lightly for me,” Spear said. “I wish I could hug and thank every person that’s helped me.”
Davis said treating bone cancer requires a broad network of specialists and caregivers.
“A village of doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and social workers” is needed to provide the best possible care and outcomes, Davis said.
For Spear, that support network has become one of the brightest parts of a difficult journey.
“I could not imagine not having the support that I have and going through the same thing,” Spear said.