Olivia Medical Anthropology

Receiving unfortunate news about an individual close to us can be heavy and upsetting. Just recently, one of the daughters of a family very close to mine got diagnosed with a type of bone cancer called Osteosarcoma. This cancer starts when a healthy bone cell develops an alteration in its DNA. Osteosarcoma is a very rare cancer but fortunately, about 3 out of 4 people who are diagnosed can be cured, if the detected cancer doesn’t spread to other parts of the body. After she was diagnosed, there was debate about whether or not the Covid-19 vaccination had any correlation with the growth of the cancer. Some in the medical community, specifically those that have conversed with those recently diagnosed with cancer, have speculated that the vaccine has caused the growth of the tumor to grow at a faster rate than it would’ve without any vaccination. According to the American Cancer Society, depending on vaccine type, type of cancer, and if the individual’s immune system is functioning properly, some types of vaccines may not be safe for some individuals with cancer. This means that although there aren’t any verifiable tests or information about the correlation between the two, the possible dangers that could result from the obscure aspects about the vaccine lead professionals to speculate this possibility.

Mayo Clinic and American Cancer Society