Three years ago I was diagnosed with Ewing’s Sarcoma. Like Gemma, the character in my novel, Don’t Call Me Brave, I had no idea what a sarcoma was. It’s not a main-stream, scary word like cancer. Gemma thinks it sounds like a Mediterranean holiday resort! #Sarcoma is Cancer.
Alas, it IS cancer. And that’s what Sarcoma UK is talking about, particularly this coming week during Sarcoma Awareness Week. Awareness is everything. It took doctors (including specialist back surgeons) over three years to diagnose me. Some people don’t get diagnosed for even longer than that. For others, it’s too late.
As it’s a rare cancer, there isn’t the awareness of Sarcoma, both in the mainstream medical profession and the public at large. That not only costs lives but also means there is less funding for research than for other types of cancer. Ewing’s Sarcoma in particular tends to afflict youngsters. It’s a cruel disease.
Fortunately we read stories weekly about new, targeted therapies keeping cancer at bay. But the chemo I went through was the same, incredibly harsh treatment that has been the standard protocol for the past twenty years. I am one of the lucky ones. Having said that, I wouldn’t want anyone to experience that grueling treatment. We desperately need to find other methods of treating and curing Sarcoma.
Please give to Sarcoma UK. I am. Visit: https://sarcoma.org.uk/donate