Chiara was 14 years old when in 2012 she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma which catapulted her into another reality.
She was suffering from stinging knee pain and was scared because the pain wouldn’t pass despite the painkillers. She did not understand the nature of the pain and it was necessary to investigate. Without wasting too much time, her parents immediately took her to an AISOS center with an X-ray.
Chiara found herself in the right place at the right time because for AISOS doctors it was immediately evident that she was affected by osteosarcoma. This early diagnosis was essential for getting in time and being able to defeat this ‘monster’, as Chiara now calls osteosarcoma.
From day one, Chiara remembers, she felt part of AISOS because she was seen as an adult. She was made aware of the battle she would have to face and thanks also to the psychological support she was placed at the center of a united team fighting for a single goal, to face together, a path towards the healing.
This awareness, she claims today, was of great help in being able to win her battle against osteosarcoma: dialogue, awareness, and the search for the goal were decisive elements that have always encouraged her to fight, so much so that today she knows she is invincible against the adversities of life.
In her heart, there is a special place for a tender memory during that period of her fight against osteosarcoma: that big Sacher cake that Dr. Francesca Maddalena Terracciano brought to her hospital room as a gift for her birthday.
