Sarcoma Stories

When Kaela began experiencing reoccurring hip pains, she assumed it was due to her busy life, not realising that the pain was synovial sarcoma.

When Steph began to experience pain while exercising, she never expected the cause to be something as severe as Osteosarcoma.  

43-year-old Sarah never expected a pain on the right side of her lower back to be as serious as Retroperitoneal Liposarcoma.

Sarcoma is a rare cancer, it can happen to anyone at any time.

83-year-old Robin Hatfield – like many others– had only heard of the word sarcoma but was not aware of what it was before he was diagnosed with Angiosarcoma in early 2022. He discovered black lumps on the top of his scalp and went to his GP to get them checked out, but unfortunately, his GP could not identify the lumps. “He didn’t know what they could be, he suggested they may be hematomas or that I struck my head, but I couldn’t recall that, so we left that there” Robin recalls after his first visit.

In 2017, 49 year old Ingrid noticed a lump on her inner thigh.  Ingrid thought it was an odd spot for a lump to appear and when it kept growing she sought medical advice from her local GP in New Zealand.  Her GP immediately sent her off for an ultrasound.  That was when Ingrid jumped online looking for a potential diagnosis.  Her instincts told her this lump was potentially sinister and google did not help calm her nerves.  

Maxi was just 15 months old when he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma.  He endured surgery four times and 23 rounds of chemotherapy along with a raft of other tests, scans and treatments. ANZSA brought you his story two years ago and wanted to provide you with an update on how little Maxi is progressing.  

Jess was a healthy 28 year old planning her wedding when cancer entered her world and her life changed.   

It was just a normal PT session where Jess felt discomfort in her stomach.  Fortunately she saw her doctor who also knew her discomfort was not usual.  What unfolded was life changing.

In this webinar recording, we focus on the important role of general practitioners (GPs) in your sarcoma journey.

In this webinar recording, we highlighted the role of Rare Cancers Australia in supporting sarcoma patients and their families through their patient support services.

In this webinar recording, we highlighted the role of carers with a focus on challenges of being a carer, practical help, research on unmet needs of carers, resources and support for carers.

This is the incredible story of Maxwell’s osteosarcoma journey told by his mum, Julie. Maxi was diagnosed with localised osteosarcoma in his knee and underwent rotationplasty as one of his treatments.

Dr Susie Bae shares her insights about her work and her patients explaining why her work provides a window to some of life’s best and worst moments but is always “a great privilege”.