| Website | Description |
|---|---|
| ASPS Facebook Support Group | The purpose of this group is to provide support and information regarding ASPS for individuals currently diagnosed with ASPS and their caregivers. |
| CureASPS.org Blog | We are a group of patients, family, and researchers working together to find effective treatments and ultimately a cure for ASPS. |
| CureASPS.org Forum | A place for patients and relatives. Share your experience, learn from others. |
Acute care is short-term, urgent medical treatment for serious or sudden health problems. It often takes place in a hospital, such as in the emergency department, intensive care unit, or during a short hospital stay, and focuses on stabilizing and treating the immediate issue.
Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma (ASPS) is an extremely rare form of cancer that grows in the body’s soft tissues, like muscle or fat. It tends to grow slowly at first, often without causing pain, but can spread to places like the lungs, brain, or bones—even years after it first appears. ASPS doesn’t respond well to standard chemotherapy, so treatments often focus on surgery, targeted drugs, or immunotherapy. Its name comes from the way the cancer cells look under a microscope, resembling the tiny air sacs in the lungs called alveoli.
Ambulatory care means medical services you receive without staying overnight in a hospital. It includes things like clinic visits, same-day surgeries, and outpatient treatments—care you can walk in for and go home the same day.
Cancer Centre of South-Eastern Ontario in Kingston provides cancer care for people across the region, offering diagnosis, treatment, follow-up care, and support services. It’s part of Kingston Health Sciences Centre and works closely with community hospitals to ensure patients can access high-quality care closer to home.
Chemotherapy is a cancer treatment that uses powerful drugs to kill fast-growing cells, including cancer cells. It can reach cancer anywhere in the body but may also affect healthy cells, which is why it can cause side effects like fatigue, hair loss, or nausea.
CT scan uses X-rays and a computer to create detailed cross-section images of the inside of your body. It’s especially good for showing bones, organs, and tumours from different angles. A CAT scan is simply an older name for the same test—both mean the exact same thing.
Hypofractionated radiation therapy is a way of giving radiation in larger doses over fewer sessions. It delivers the same total amount of radiation as standard treatment but in a shorter time, which can be more convenient and just as effective for certain cancers.
Immune‐Related Adverse Events (often abbreviated as irAEs) are side effects caused by the immune system becoming overactive in response to certain cancer treatments—most often immune checkpoint inhibitors such as PD-1, PD-L1, or CTLA-4 blocking drugs. These treatments are designed to “take the brakes off” the immune system so it can attack cancer cells more effectively. The downside is that the immune system can also attack normal, healthy tissues by mistake, leading to inflammation in various organs.
Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that helps your own immune system find and attack cancer cells. It works in different ways, such as taking the “brakes” off immune cells or boosting their ability to target tumours, and can also attack normal, healthy tissues by mistake, leading to inflammation in various organs.
MRI-guided radiotherapy (MRgRT) is a technique that combines magnetic resonance imaging with external beam radiotherapy, allowing doctors to see tumours and surrounding soft tissues in real time while delivering treatment. Using an MR-Linac, which integrates an MRI scanner with a linear accelerator, clinicians can track motion such as breathing, visualize changes in organ position or tumour shape, and adapt radiation delivery on the spot. This provides more precise targeting than conventional image-guided radiotherapy, especially for cancers in soft tissue areas.
MRI scan uses strong magnets and radio waves to make detailed pictures of the inside of your body. It doesn’t use X-rays, and it’s especially good at showing soft tissues like the brain, muscles, and organs.
Metastasis is the process where cancer cells break away from the original (primary) tumour, travel through the blood or lymphatic system, and form new tumours in other parts of the body.
Phase 1 clinical trial in Canada is the first step in testing a new treatment in people. The main goal is to find the safest dose and watch for side effects, not to prove how well it works. These trials usually involve a small group of participants and are an important early step before moving on to larger studies.
Phase 2 clinical trial is the second stage of testing a new treatment in people. It looks at whether the treatment works for a specific type of cancer and continues to monitor safety. These trials involve more participants than Phase 1 and help decide if the treatment should move on to larger Phase 3 studies in Canada and beyond.
Phase 3 clinical trial is the final large-scale test before a new treatment can be approved in Canada. It compares the new treatment to the current standard of care to see which works better and is safer. These trials involve hundreds or even thousands of participants, often across multiple hospitals, and provide the evidence needed for Health Canada to decide if the treatment should be made widely available.
PET scan uses a small amount of radioactive sugar to find areas of the body where cells are extra active—often a sign of cancer. A special camera takes 3D pictures, showing where the cancer may be and if it has spread.
Prescription (rx) is the official order from a doctor or other qualified health professional for a specific medicine or treatment, telling you exactly what to take, how much, and how often.
Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto is one of the world’s top cancer hospitals, known for advanced research, leading-edge treatments, and compassionate care. It’s part of the University Health Network and treats patients from across Canada and beyond, offering everything from surgery and radiation to specialized clinical trials.
Stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) is a precise, high-dose form of radiation used to treat tumours outside the brain, such as in the lungs, liver, spine, or other areas. It delivers powerful beams from multiple angles, targeting the cancer while minimizing damage to nearby healthy tissue, usually in just a few treatment sessions.
Stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) is a highly focused form of radiation that delivers a powerful, precise dose to a tumour in just one or a few sessions. Despite the name, it’s not surgery—there’s no cutting. SRS is often used for small brain tumours or spots of cancer that have spread to the brain, aiming to destroy them while sparing healthy tissue.
Systemic therapy is cancer treatment that travels through your bloodstream to reach cancer cells anywhere in the body. This includes chemotherapy, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, and some hormone therapies.
Toronto Western Hospital is a downtown Toronto teaching and research hospital within UHN (University Health Network), serving a diverse urban community. It’s best known for brain and spine care, vision care, and musculoskeletal health, anchored by the Krembil Research Institute and the Donald K. Johnson Eye Centre—with a major surgical expansion underway.
Treatment (tx) is the care you receive to fight your cancer or manage its symptoms—whether that’s surgery, medication, radiation, or anything else aimed at helping you live longer or feel better.
Tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) are cancer medicines that block specific signals cancer cells use to grow and spread. By shutting down these “growth switches,” TKIs can slow or stop the cancer, often with fewer side effects than traditional chemotherapy.
Ultrasound uses sound waves to create live pictures of the inside of your body. It’s often used to check organs, soft tissues, and blood flow, and it doesn’t use any radiation.
Volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) is an advanced type of radiation treatment where the machine moves in a full or partial arc around you, delivering radiation from many angles. The beam’s shape and strength change continuously, allowing it to target the tumour very precisely while reducing exposure to nearby healthy tissue.
X-ray uses a small amount of radiation to take quick pictures of the inside of your body, especially bones and certain organs. It’s one of the fastest and most common imaging tests.