Sarcoma Warriors of the Upstate raises the stakes
Dr. Scott Porter of the Greenville Hospital System is privy to the intricacies of the human machine. But he doesn’t perform routine tune-ups—he revives rare imports.
Porter, 40, an orthopaedic oncologist, is one of an estimated 200 in the United States. After medical school at Yale University and during his residency in orthopaedic surgery at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, the recently named Liberty Fellow suffered an existential crisis—do I really want to do this? He craved a challenge greater than the routine and had a desire to help those on the brink. Porter discovered his passion during a rotation in cancer surgery while in Charlotte.
He treats sarcomas—rare cancers (“Maybe out of 4 million South Carolina residents, about 100 develop this disease,” Porter says) of connective tissue, including nerve, muscle, fat, artery, cartilage, and bone. Medical jargon aside, two facts are clear: Sarcomas are aggressive diseases, and they can affect any person of any age, race, or gender—it is truly an equal-opportunity cancer.
But rarity doesn’t make treatment less important—it, perhaps, makes a stronger case. That’s Porter’s view, anyhow. Two years ago, the doc and his team of medical personnel, along with family and friends of patients, laced their sneaks and deemed themselves “Sarcoma Warriors,” to race for charity. When one participant offered $1,500, Porter realized he could turn this one-day collection into a 365-day nonprofit—Sarcoma Warriors of the Upstate, which, as the name suggests, is a system to buoy South Carolina sarcoma patients to keep up the fight, find others who share the challenge, and also to educate about these elusive malignancies that prey on the old and especially the young.
Sarcoma Warriors is not a research-oriented nonprofit—except maybe for sarcoma patients who wish to connect with others who share their plight. The organization simply offers a chance—a chance for Palmetto State sarcoma patients to live. Aid could come in the form of bone prostheses, surgery, chemotherapy and radiation, travel coverage to out-of-state hospitals, and more. While there is no limit to monetary requests, Porter says that applicants must be sarcoma patients and South Carolina residents, and its board reviews applications and allocates funds. The organization recently had a successful fundraising event at the Brown Street Club in Greenville and plans to schedule more of these to boost the cause.
Though these cancers are undoubtedly obscure, the importance of Sarcoma Warriors—and of Porter, his team, and each life connected to a sarcoma patient—is microscopically clear. —Blair Knobel
