Cancer is far from most people’s minds on the day-to-day – especially for adolescents and young adults (AYA) in the 16-39 age group.
Josh Lombardi, 33, is sharing his story to bring awareness for cancers among young people and for sarcoma – a cancer that accounts for just 1% of adult cancers but 15% of childhood cancers.
Josh and his wife, Sophie, were married in May 2023 in a small ceremony in her parents’ backyard, followed by a big celebration with friends and a picturesque honeymoon hiking in Italy. They were just beginning the next stage of their lives when everything changed.
Looking back, the first sign there was a problem was Josh getting more sore than normal after working out.
“We attributed it to his job as a dentist and that maybe he hadn’t been in the gym as often,” says Sophie. “He was productive at home and was – and is – a very loving partner. We had no clue anything was really wrong until about a week before he was diagnosed.”
In late 2023, he went to the doctor for urinary frequency. Testing soon revealed sarcoma. The urinary frequency he felt was the result of tumours pushing on muscles and organs.
Josh’s sarcoma, desmoplastic small round cell tumors (DSRCT), is rare within the already rare cancer type. “It can cause lots of small tumours, which means surgery isn’t always an option,” he shares. Josh is undergoing chemotherapy at BC Cancer – Vancouver to shrink the tumours.
“I’ve been doing pretty good staying positive and staying active. I have a really good support network and I feel lucky to have those people surrounding me through all this.”
That support network, including his mom, Val Stevenson, Sophie, and a group of friends and family have formed “Josh’s Team” to ride in BC Cancer Foundation’s annual Tour de Cure, presented by Wheaton Precious Metals. They have also recruited BC Cancer researcher Dr. Torsten Nielsen who specializes in sarcomas.
“We were so excited when Dr. Nielsen joined us. Not only is he an incredible researcher, but a very caring person and we’re lucky to have him in our corner,” says Val.
Josh’s Team’s goal is to bring awareness to sarcomas and cancer in the AYA group, and fundraise for Dr. Nielsen’s leading-edge research.
“There has been huge progress made in certain sarcomas. For example, cure rates for osteosarcoma have gone from under 15% to over 75%,” says Dr. Nielsen. “I am hoping we can apply recent genomic and biotechnological advances to desmoplastic round cell tumor to make a similar difference for this disease.”
Josh and Sophie hope sharing their story will help break the stigma around cancer and inspire others to join them in supporting research.
“There’s a misconception that you don’t get cancer if you’re young and healthy or if you work hard and you’re a virtuous person,” says Sophie. “I probably felt that way before too, but this cancer is caused by a genetic mutation. It’s random and there’s nothing Josh did or didn’t do that caused it.”
“I want people to know that no matter what you’re faced with, there’s always something you can do about it. There’s always a way forward,” adds Josh.
The family is looking forward to Tour de Cure, bolstered by the outpouring of support they have received and most importantly as Sophie says, they are enjoying all the things that make life good.
Donate to support Josh’s Team and Dr. Nielsen’s critical research.
