Chelsea Clark’s dreams of appearing in beauty pageants, and ultimately settling in a modeling career, had to be put on hold when she was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a rare and severely debilitating form of bone cancer. To make matters worse, the cancer has spread to her lungs.The petite 11-year-old daughter of Tom and Vickie Clark, underwent a highly complex surgery Monday at St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis in an effort to save her left arm from amputation which the medical team had initially feared would be unavoidable.Misti Hillis, a close friend of the Chelsea Clark family, reported from just outside the surgery suite at St. Jude the lengthy operation Monday “was very successful.” Six surgeons in all, including one reconstructive specialist and one plastic surgeon, worked in stages during the operation.Chelsea will likely remain in surgical ICU for the next two days, then progress to a general-care unit for a few more days, according to Hillis.
Chelsea Clark, 11 undergoes surgery as she battles cancer