Life can be bumpy, check that lumpy!

(Sorry for the shit title, my creative flare just hasn’t returned since the Xmas break yet ha)

Since making my story more public, I have honestly been inundated with hundreds of emails from people asking my symptoms and interested in more info about Sarcomas and wondering whether their lump they’ve found is a Sarcoma and how their GP’s have fobbed them off. I have attempted to reply to most of them but it has been difficult to keep up after the madness of Christmas and Indie turning into a threenager. I am so very grateful to be able to spread awareness and how people are so trusting by telling me their biggest worries and journeys, it’s so very humbling to be in this position.

I worry that my story/journey will scare a lot of people and there will be lines of people outside the doctors like ‘I HAVE SARCOMA CANCER’ haha, but no, seriously, Sarcomas are rare. It is most likely, you don’t have one. However, I am no doctor. Without being a bore and yapping on about statistics, to add more clarity… around 375,000 people get diagnosed with cancer a year and only around 12,000 of them are Sarcoma Cancer.

If you Google, it will most likely tell you around 8 types of ‘common’ sarcomas, however if you’ve read anything I’ve written before, there’s actually around 50 subtypes of Sarcoma and that’s only what they’ve found before, I believe there’s probably more around 100. They grow in your bones, soft tissues, muscles & cartilage. Cells are changing and mutating everyday and our bodies are so very clever. It’s all mad when you start to look into it more. However, modern medicine is also developing everyday so I truly have every faith that their one day will be a cure for Sarcoma cancer.

HOWEVER, although rare, this isn’t to say that you shouldn’t follow up on any lump or bump you do find. It is so so important to trust you gut and don’t stop asking for answers if you have that question in your mind. The anxiety won’t go away until you are happy you have everything answered. What this past year has definitely taught me is that ‘health is wealth’, nothing is more important than being alive for your family.

I’ve had many people say ‘I’ve had scans and the lumped showed up as nothing’… Sarcomas cannot be detected by scan, blood, any other concoction the doctors can come up with… only a BIOPSY will determine whether your tumour is in fact a Sarcoma. If you think this is the case with your lump, DEMAND a biopsy. It’s your body, it’s your life.

There’s a little saying that I always stick to ‘always trust your gut, your brain can be fooled, your heart can be blind, but your gut doesn’t know how to lie’.

I hope this helps answer any of your questions you might be wondering. My inbox is always open though if you wanted any more info or just fancied a chat. I can’t promise I’ll reply straight away as Indie is most likely making me pretend to be Ariel or Elsa swimming or dancing around the living room, but I’m always here.

Rach x