July is Sarcoma Awareness Month. Sarcomas are rare cancers that develop in the bones or soft tissues, such as fat, muscles, nerves, and more. As bone and soft tissues can be found nearly everywhere in the body, a sarcoma can start in any part of your body. Sharing her experience and raising awareness for this rare form of cancer is Sarcoma Survivor, Siobhán Hughes:
“I was always prone to fibroid lumps in my breasts. Fibroids are abnormal growths, but are typically benign, or noncancerous. I remember discovering one in July or August, but at that time my mum was very ill, so I put off going to get it checked. I thought it’s only just appeared I’ll go in September after the summer is over. Sadly, my mum passed away, and I immediately made an appointment to check on, what I thought and hoped, was just another fibroid.
Thankfully I was seen to very quickly, and straight away the doctor knew that it was something more serious. It wasn’t a very big lump, but even I knew myself that it felt different. I knew it had to be something.
In October 2013 the hospital took a biopsy and conducted a number of scans, and by November they had the results back – Sarcoma. The first step in my treatment journey was a lumpectomy, but they couldn’t get enough surrounding tissue so the next step was a mastectomy.
It was all such a shock. Firstly, the shock of being told I had cancer and then the sarcoma diagnosis, which very rarely appears in the breast. After my mastectomy in January, my medical team were reviewing my treatment plan and advised that I may need chemotherapy, but this was not definite. This bothered me at the start, as I just wanted to do whatever it took to get rid of the cancer. I wanted all traces of it out of my body. But, I trusted my doctors and their expertise. In the end I didn’t need chemotherapy or radiation, surgery had gone so well, they had captured everything.
One of the hardest parts of the whole experience was the anxiety and worry I felt after my surgery. I kept thinking the cancer was going to come back. I regularly checked my entire body for any lumps and bumps. I knew very little about sarcoma and that didn’t help. I didn’t want to be reading or researching too much on my own, as Google is not good! I didn’t want to have the wrong information. So, I went to my surgeon and nurses for help and accurate information, and they were amazing.
I had a family history of cancer, so I was vigilant and catching cancer early is key. It’s also really important to reach out and get help. It is a scary time and you can feel very alone. In my situation my mum had just passed away and that was a huge support system that I had lost. But, I went to support groups and was never afraid to reach out to my medical team and ask questions. Accepting your cancer is gone is another key milestone – it took me about a year to come to terms with that and start living life again.
If you ask me, cancer research is just so important. Down the line maybe there will be new treatments where women will not have to get mastectomies. Research will help others; recovery may not be as bad, and we may find cures for the various types of cancer, like sarcoma. I would encourage you to please support cancer research if you can, you will be making a difference to so many lives." Siobhán Hughes, Sarcoma Cancer Survivor
This August, we are challenging you to run 100KM to show your support for cancer research. Don't panic, you don't have to run the full 100KM in one day or even one week. You have 31 days to clock up this distance, and if you have to walk, or even crawl some of the 100KM we won't tell! Alternatively, you could take on this challenge with a buddy and split the distance by running 50KM each. Whatever you do and how ever you do it, it's all for a great cause - research into poor prognosis cancers. Cancer research is the only thing that will create new and more effective treatments for cancer, and give back the birthdays, weddings and futures that cancer is trying to take away. Sign up today, register for your free t-shirt, and join ourprivate Facebook groupwhere you will receive lots of motivation and support from fellow participants, and also hear about the cancer survivors whose lives you are making possible with cancer research. #TeamBreakthrough #MakeMoreSurvivors
Summer Student Scholarship We are thrilled to announce, and welcome on-board, the recipients of our Breakthrough Cancer Research Summer Student Scholarship. These seven carefully selected third level students are hoping to help make advances which will lead to vastly improved cancer treatments for Irish patients. This new Summer Student Scholarship is an initiative to facilitate the partnership of students with research teams, and to foster the education of the next generation of cancer research leaders. It is another step in our mission to ensure that Irish patients have access to the best treatments for cancer, and never have to be told that there is “no hope.”
Amongst the students awarded scholarships are Katia Yazji of the Royal College of Surgeons Ireland and Tara O’Brien from Trinity College Dublin.
Katia and Tara are both conducting research into Multiple Myeloma (MM). This is an incurable cancer of the blood which affects 300 people annually in Ireland. Survival rates vary hugely for this condition, with some patients surviving for over a decade whilst others pass away in less than two years. Through their research these scholars hope to improve the survival rates of this deadly cancer. Fellow scholar Maitiú Ó Murchú of UCD is striving to improve radiation response in Oesophageal Cancer, which is cancer of the food pipe, using the novel thermo responsive hydrogel 'Oxygel.' With a 20% survival rate, Oesophageal Cancer is a dismal condition with unmet clinical needs, so Maitiú’s research in this space is essential. The remaining four scholarships were awarded to Chris Glynn of UCD, Ciara Ruth Gavin of UCC, Khadija Haouit of Trinity Translational Medicine, and Shaun Hartigan of UCC. Their research topics include examining: the role stroma, or matrix, in which pancreatic cancer cells grow in disease progression; the role of autophagy, a method of cell recovery in Leukaemia; methods to improve immunotherapy in Oesophageal cancer, and lastly, a study investigating the role of non-coding RNA in Ovarian Cancer.
“Cancer takes one life every hour of every day in Ireland. Our aim is to partner students with research teams and to help bring forward the next generation of cancer research leaders to make breakthroughs which could assist patients nationwide. Covid-19 has meant that students have had less time in the lab, and has led to interruptions in cancer research, so this opportunity is even more important”. “We are all aware of the power and need for research. It is the only thing that will lead to breakthroughs and give patients the futures they deserve” - Orla Dolan, CEO of Breakthrough Cancer Research.
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