Nadine Hanna

My battle with bone cancer

In March of this year I was diagnosed with a rare type of bone cancer called parosteal osteosarcoma in my left proximal humerus (shoulder), a cancer that grows on the outer part of the bone. This type of cancer makes up only 4% of bone cancer cases globally. 

Thankfully, I caught it early and was able to undergo quite a large surgery, which took up to 8 hours, allowing the surgeons to take a bone graft from my fibula and save my humerus.

I found out about my diagnosis through pain that I was experiencing in my shoulder that wasn't going away. I went to do an ultrasound and x-ray, in which the radiographer said that we needed to do a CT scan. These scans showed that I had a 2-3 cm tumour as well as some extra "fuzzy" stuff surrounding the top part of my humerus. This then led to an MRI scan, PET scan, and biopsy, which confirmed my diagnosis for a low-grade osteosarcoma. 

I met a surgeon who said that I would have needed to undergo a "reverse shoulder replacement" surgery, which I did not feel comfortable doing due to my age, so I decided to get a second opinion from another surgeon who suggested doing an ECI (extracorporeal irradiation) surgery and vascularised fibula graft. This surgery essentially involved the surgeons cutting the piece of bone that was affected and radiating it under a high-dosage radiation machine and implanting it back into my bone. However, before putting it back, they took a bone graft from my fibula as well as the blood vessels and created a shaft in my humerus so that the fibula can be placed inside it for blood supply. 

I am currently 3 months post-op with limited mobility in my shoulder but am building it back up with physio. 

I’m walking for a cancer free future

I’m taking on 7 Bridges Walk on Sunday 25 October 2026 and will be uniting with the community to walk 28km around Sydney Harbour. 

Every year in NSW alone, more than 56,000 new cases of cancer are expected to be diagnosed and the impact on families, carers and communities is significant. 

Please sponsor me and help those affected by cancer. Every step counts because all funds raised will help Cancer Council NSW work towards the vision of a cancer free future. Thank you for your support!