Charity calls for greater awareness and clarity to tackle the tragedies of rare cancer
New report exposes the unwarranted obstacles faced by sarcoma patients today
Next week sees the launch of a new national campaign by the charity Sarcoma UK to help improve diagnosis and prognosis for sarcoma cancer patients in the UK. The charity launched a comprehensive new report[1] on 26th November 2019, which reveals how this little-known and commonly misunderstood cancer has a devastating impact on its patients and their families, from diagnosis through to treatment.
As part of this campaign, the charity is aiming to increase healthcare professionals’ understanding of the condition with an updated series of free GP Sarcoma Diagnostic Toolkits. The guides contain simple yet effective tools outlining clinical presentations, investigations for adults and children, as well as guidance on how to refer patients to their Sarcoma Specialist Centre for diagnosis and treatment. Toolkits can be downloaded at sarcoma.org.uk/health-professionals/gps or contact the charity for printed copies.
Over 5,300 people are diagnosed with sarcoma in the UK every year. This is a tenth of those found with breast cancer, meaning that those diagnosed with sarcoma might never meet someone who shares the same type as them; in many ways, sarcoma is the loneliest cancer. As a relatively uncommon cancer, healthcare professionals may only ever see one case of sarcoma in their whole career, making diagnosis and referral to the correct patient pathway very challenging. As with all cancers, the earlier a sarcoma is diagnosed, the better the chances of successful treatment.
The report has found that a lack of awareness of sarcoma among the general public and healthcare professionals – as well as silent symptoms – can lead to late or misdiagnosis, often with heart-breaking consequences. Indeed, only 55% sarcoma patients survive for five or more years after diagnosis. Expert opinion in the report finds that confusion, anxiety and anger are prevalent among people diagnosed with sarcoma; they are often bewildered and crushed by the news because for most of them, ‘it’s a cancer they have never even heard of’.[2]
At present there are 16 specialist sarcoma centres in the UK, and Sarcoma UK runs its own support helpline (which has taken 5,500 calls and emails from more than 1,500 individuals since it was set up in 2016). Over the past two years, the charity has led the work towards collating and improving the quality of the data available around sarcoma incidence in the UK. Unfortunately, the report has underlined that this is proving difficult because it is believed only 37% of NHS data on sarcoma patients is complete. The charity believes that opaque, inaccurate figures on sarcoma are a catastrophic barrier to improving treatment options. The NHS Long Term Plan, highlighted earlier this year, is calling for 75% of all cancers to be diagnosed at stages I and II in the next ten years. Although a welcome ambition, with only one third of sarcoma patients having their stage of sarcoma recorded, this again highlights how important it is to vastly improve the quality of sarcoma data recording.
As the report underlines, there are over 100 sub-types of sarcoma – there is no one size fits all treatment. Numbers of those diagnosed with each sub-type are relatively small so investment into research is low and recruitment to clinical trials is poor.
Due to the nature of this cancer, aggressive surgery (particularly amputation) is often the first line of treatment alongside radiotherapy and chemotherapy. Usually serious or life-altering, surgery can have a long-term traumatic impact on patients. Even for those who do not need an amputation, surgery can leave their body badly disfigured. The scars from such surgeries are not only physical but can cause long-term if not life-long emotional issues, such as not wanting to socialise or not feeling able to carry on working.
Additional findings from the report include:
Richard Davidson, Chief Executive of Sarcoma UK comments, “Appallingly, this destructive cancer has maintained a low profile until now even though lives are still being lost or devastated by amputations and invasive treatments. 15 people each day in the UK receive the shattering news that they have sarcoma. Sadly, bone cancers are more common in children and young adults with about 670 cases a year. With greater general awareness, diagnosis could be quicker. Currently, treatments are basic and decades old, and could be more effective. With increased funding for pioneering research survival rates could be improved and the suffering caused by this rare and often cruel cancer would diminish.”
The full report can be found via sarcoma.org.uk
Sarcoma UK Support Line Specialists are here for every person affected by sarcoma. Monday to Friday, 10am – 3pm. Phone: 0808 801 0401 or email supportline@sarcoma.org.uk.
[1] The report was commissioned by Sarcoma UK and authored by expert health journalist Adrian Monti
[2] Expert opinion from Sarah Massey, a sarcoma Clinical Nurse Specialist at Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust, who is directly quoted in the report
