How does a soft tissue sarcoma appear on a regular xray?

i have a mass on my finger that i had xrayed and they said it showed up as swelling in the xray, but im scared it could be a soft tissue sarcoma...what are characteristics of soft tissue sarcomas?? i have had this mass on my finger for about six months now with no pain, so the doctor said its just a tendon sheath tumor? anyone know about sarcomas or xrays?

im really worried...i know im probably just paranoid but im scared

Please take Panda's excellent advice and pursue this with a sarcoma specialist if possible. I would at least recommend a biopsy, based on my own sarcoma experience. I had a "probably nothing" lump excised from my arm, and it turned out to be Malignant Fibrous Histiocytoma. The good news is that the odds are in your favor - sarcoma is very rare, so chances are your doctor is right. But it's not worth the risk to just let it go.

I would be persistent until you get a definitive answer. I just know far too many people with sarcoma who were told and reassured by their doctor that it was not cancer . . only to have it turn out to be cancerous. I am not saying this to scare you but to alert you that you need to find the answer to this question through clinical examination. If you want to know if this is a sarcoma or not you need to go see a sarcoma specialist. A sarcoma specialist is some one who treats this type of rare disease and will know if it is a sarcoma or not. Regular doctors and even regular oncologists are not familiar enough with sarcoma to know the difference. There are many who are misdiagnosed because of this. I am not saying that what you have is a soft tissue sarcoma, but if you want peace of mind . . locate a sarcoma cancer center or comprehensive cancer center and go and see a sarcoma specialist.

You can locate a sarcoma center or sarcoma specialist on the sarcoma alliance page:
http://www.sarcomaalliance.com/master.ht...

There are many other types of tumors that can show up on the finger or hand, including melanoma. I am not sure why you are focusing on soft tissue sarcoma. There is a type of soft tissue tumor called epithelioid sarcoma that persists on showing up on the finger and hand.

Primary Epithelioid Sarcoma of the Hand and Forearm
http://www.ejbjs.org/cgi/reprint/56/3/45...

Here is a patient with epithelioid sarcoma who created a film about his experience:
http://mylefthand-themovie.com/default.a...

And, another patient
http://www.cancerhelp.org.uk/help/defaul...

As you can see, having a lump on your finger can be just as serious as having an unknown lump anywhere on your body. It is good that you are concerned enough to pursue this and I know from the attention you are giving this that you will do fine. Whatever the diagnosis turns out to be you will have done the best that you could.

Stay strong and hopeful that this is a benign tumor that can be easily removed. I wish I could ease your anxiety, but until you get to a doctor for a clinical examination . . there is little anyone can do for you. And, trust me, I understand waiting and anxiety very, very well.

I don't know much about sarcoma but soft tissues don't show up well on X-Rays, it is unlikely that you could be diagnosed without a biopsy.