The afternoon tea in the House of Commons was hosted with Sarcoma UK, the national bone and soft tissue cancer charity.

Lauren Phillips, 27, from Sidcup, Southeast London, was the asked to share her experiences at the event by Sarcoma UK. Lauren’s dad Terry died of sarcoma in 2019, less than two months after his diagnosis. He was 47 years old.

‘My dad had been experiencing pain in his left knee and a lump that was increasing in size in late 2018. He went to various doctors and was told it was a torn tendon or a ball of blood trapped underneath the knee’ says Lauren.

‘By early 2019, he was struggling to walk and drive and was limping. It wasn’t getting better or going away. It wasn’t until March that a doctor referred him for a biopsy to rule things out. When the biopsy came back, he was told it was sarcoma. None of us had ever heard of it.’

Sarcomas are uncommon cancers that can affect any part of the body. There are many different types of sarcoma, however all subtypes of sarcoma can be grouped into soft tissue sarcomas and bone sarcomas.

Sarcoma is very rare, making up less than 2% of all cancers diagnosed in the UK each year.

Lauren is now doing all she can to raise awareness of sarcoma so that everybody knows the signs and symptoms, as well as what sarcoma is.

Yesterday’s event was held to talk about the importance of early diagnosis, which gives anyone with sarcoma the best chance of survival.

Being diagnosed with any cancer is an isolating and lonely experience. This is particularly true for sarcoma patients, who have agonisingly long waits for a diagnosis of a cancer with limited treatment options.

The later that any cancer, including sarcoma, is diagnosed, the fewer the options for treatment and the higher the chance of treatments not working.

Two years ago, Sarcoma UK recommended how to improve the speed at which the disease is diagnosed in its ‘Delays Cost Lives’ report.

The charity is still committed to the recommendations set out in the report, and is calling for renewed action.

Last week’s event was attended by MPs from across the country, such as, Marion Fellows MP, Taiwo Owatemi MP, Tonia Antoniazzi MP, and more.

Members of Sarcoma UK’s Early Diagnosis Expert Steering Group and patients that contributed to the ‘Delays Cost Lives’ report also attended with representatives from Sarcoma UK including CEO Richard Davidson, and Policy & Public Affairs Manager, Bradley Price.

‘Despite 15 people in the UK being diagnosed with sarcoma every day, only 25% of the population know what sarcoma is, with even fewer people recognising its signs and symptoms,’ says Bradley.

‘Getting diagnosed as early as possible is key, so if you have any signs and symptoms, contact your GP.

‘The greater awareness we have of sarcoma, and the importance of early diagnosis, the more chance we have of being able to help people when it will really make a difference. Sarcoma UK is so grateful to Lauren for sharing her and her dad’s experiences at this event, to help boost public awareness of sarcoma and put early diagnosis on the agenda.’

‘When my dad was diagnosed, the doctor told him at the time that he could not give him a timeline on how long he might have left, as there was not enough research into sarcoma to know how things work’ says Lauren.

‘This isn’t good enough, and needs to change. I hope the MPs in attendance yesterday help us by doing all they can to help Sarcoma UK raise funding and awareness of this disease, so that more people don’t lose their lives as my dad did.’

‘I hope that by sharing my story, this will help people understand more about sarcoma and how quickly things can progress.’

Sarcoma UK have set out how they intend to combat the problem at hand, such as targeted education programmes for medical professionals, as well as resources for patients and their families. Details can be found via the charity’s dedicated early diagnosis website page.

For more information about sarcoma, such as signs and symptoms, support, and how Sarcoma UK is funding vital research and campaigning for better treatments, please visit sarcoma.org.uk.