Cancer robbed this young ballerina of her leg but she hasn't given up on her dream

Kara Skrubis has had a passion for ballet since she was 3 years old, competing across the country and sharing dreams to teach the younger generation how to dance.

In October 2019, Skrubis woke up one morning with a lot of pain in her left knee. As an 18-year-old freshman and dance major at the University of Buffalo, she was stressed out about the possible injury. But after a trip to an urgent care found no cause, she pushed through the pain and finished the semester.

It wasn't until Christmas break that year, when her pain continued, that Skrubis decided to visit an orthopedic doctor. She recalls feeling a "warm lump" on her knee that she assumed was a blood clot or bursitis.

However, an x-ray revealed the lump was actually a tumor, and in January 2020, Skrubis was diagnosed with a common bone cancer called osteosarcoma. Osteosarcoma usually affects teenagers and starts in areas where the bone grows quickly, such as the end of the leg, according to the American Cancer Society.