![\"\"](\"https:\/\/cdn.fusfoundation.org\/2022\/05\/16142745\/Pizzi_w_Britt_cropped.jpeg\")
John eventually needed round-the-clock pain medication to reduce his pain from a \u201csix or seven out of 10\u201d to a more manageable level that enabled him to function and continue participating in sports. \u201cFor nearly a year he was on almost constant ibuprofen,\u201d says his mother, Margaret. \u201cWe kept hoping the pain would go away without serious intervention but it never did, and eventually it just became unbearable for him and he\u2019d had enough. He was even missing up to two hours of sleep a night due to his leg pain.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Finally, this past summer when John was 12, scans showed that John had a rare, benign tumor in his leg called an osteoid osteoma<\/a> (OO). Commonly found in long bones, such as the femur and tibia, osteoid osteomas can cause excruciating pain. While the cause of these tumors is unknown, they can affect 10 to 40 individuals per 100,000, comprising 12% of benign bone tumors and 3% of all bone tumors. They are three times more common in males than in females, and the majority are found in children, like John, and young adults.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Upon learning of John\u2019s diagnosis, his parents immediately started conducting their own research to find treatment options for their son, and soon learned of Dr. Matthew Bucknor<\/a> at the University of California San Francisco\u2019s (UCSF) Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging. Dr. Bucknor, who specializes in MR-guided high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU or FUS) and minimally invasive interventions for musculoskeletal maladies, told the Pizzis about a clinical trial<\/a> for osteoid osteoma patients like John comparing two OO treatments, focused ultrasound and radiofrequency ablation (RFA). \u201cWe were so excited to learn of the clinical trial, and then we were also really, really hopeful that John would be assigned to the focused ultrasound\/HIFU group [versus RFA], as his recovery would likely be much quicker \u2013 a few weeks versus several months \u2013 and he wouldn\u2019t have to miss the entire fall sports season,\u201d said Margaret. \u201cWhen we found out later that John was going to get the HIFU treatment, we were just ecstatic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n In August the Pizzis, who reside in Marin County, California, traveled to UCSF for John\u2019s focused ultrasound procedure with Dr. Bucknor. The treatment took just a few hours, and they were able to ablate John\u2019s tumor without any complications. \u201cBecause it is completely non-invasive, focused ultrasound offers multiple benefits: The procedure can be performed quickly, the risk of side effects can be reduced, and the recovery period can be significantly shortened,\u201d said Dr. Bucknor. \u201cWe\u2019re very pleased with John\u2019s treatment and his subsequent return to an active, pain-free lifestyle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt really couldn\u2019t have gone better,\u201d adds Margaret. \u201cAnd when John woke up after the procedure was over, the very first thing he said was, \u2018Mom! Did the Seahawks win? And what about the Yankees, did they beat the Red Sox?\u2019 We all had a good laugh.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Remarkably, John only needed a prescription painkiller once or twice in the first few days following his treatment; within three to four days, \u201che was literally on no pain medication at all \u2013 for the first time in more than a year,\u201d said Margaret. \u201cIt was amazing. Honestly, the worst part of the recovery period for him was that he had to sit out for three to four weeks from all sports and his P.E. class. It was killing him to sit on the bench, because he really did feel great, but he wasn\u2019t cleared to play again yet. All he wanted to do was run and play.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Two months post focused ultrasound treatment, John\u2019s mother reports that he still has not needed any pain medicine, and he has even added a sport to his busy, active schedule. He now plays both local fall baseball and travel baseball, soccer, and is running cross-country track for his school. Says Margaret, \u201cThe tumor is gone, he has zero pain, zero restrictions \u2026 Our boy is back!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For more information about enrollment in this clinical trial, please contact Kenneth Gao (Kenneth.Gao@ucsf.edu<\/a><\/a> or 415-353-9437) or Mariam Stephen (mstephe2@stanford.edu<\/a> or 650-497-9749).<\/p>\n\n\n\n This comparative study builds on previous clinical trials at Children\u2019s National Health System<\/a> in Washington, DC, and The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids)<\/a> in Toronto. We followed two patients who participated in the Toronto trial, which was supported by the Foundation. Hear from Jack<\/a> and Della<\/a> as they explain what this treatment meant to them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"sw_profile_cat":[303],"class_list":["post-29582","sw_profile","type-sw_profile","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n