This week's Bone Cancer Awareness week is all about early diagnosis! Just 1 in 20 Doctors/Surgeons see a Bone Cancer case in their career.... 1 in 20! Everyone’s route to diagnosis is different but
all primary bone cancer patients and people who have been affected share the same view – early diagnosis
is crucial. Caroline and Thomas were both 'lucky' in that their diagnosis was made early, within days of their accidents happening however for the majority of patients, this isn't the case. Even though Caroline and Thomas still lost their battle, we had longer with them than most other families have.
Statistics show just 41% of bone cancer
patients were sent for further investigation via a standard GP referral
or through the urgent Two-Week Wait system (TWW) in 2005-10 and almost 1 in 4 (24%) were diagnosed after an emergency admission. This means they were more likely to require an amputation and had poorer survival outlook than those who were referred by their GP.
As this is one of the rarest forms of cancer, the main problem is GPs not knowing about Bone Cancer and therefore they are very quick to advise that a patient may have growing pains or sports injuries - giving them either pain killers or antibiotics. This is something that BCRT are trying to change and they have teamed up with the Royal College of
GPs to devise an e-learning module to spot the symptoms of this rare and
devastating cancer sooner.By taking just 30 minutes out of their day, doctors can learn new information which could help to save limbs and lives.
Connor Donnelly, who lost his mum Sharon to adamantinoma in April this year, tells BCRT why early diagnosis is important to him and his family:
“Bone cancer
caused my mum to not only lose her life at the age of 48 but for over
two years as a family we had to watch her go through two operations and
two amputations. This took away her ability to walk or be the full independent woman she was before. To watch this was hard but knowing there was no cure for her cancer
meant we had to go through all of this and no happy ending – only
unbearable heartbreak. I urge all doctors to take time to learn
more about primary bone cancer symptoms. Maybe, just maybe, had my
mum’s GP, consultant or surgeon taken this e-learning module she might
still be here today."
Joanne Todd, who was diagnosed with osteosarcoma and describes why early diagnosis is so important to her:
“Being
told you have cancer is devastating for everyone but when you hear the
words ‘bone cancer’ you are left with utter disbelief and terror.The knowledge and information is not widely available as with other
cancer diagnoses. I felt alone and totally unsure as to what the future
held for me. Early diagnosis is key. If a patient presents themselves with unexplained pain or lumps, then follow this up.
I was told the bony lump I had wasn’t sinister – my instinct and intuition told me differently. If I hadn’t sought a second opinion I would not be here now writing this message.
I would urge everyone to let their GP know about this module – it gives
them even more knowledge and understanding to diagnose and spot the
early signs of bone cancer, giving the patient a far better chance of
survival.”
You can help make your GP aware of Bone Cancer by downloading a leaflet with more information about it. If you have an upcoming Drs appointment, why not take the leaflet with you and just say "I am just wondering, have you ever had any cases of Bone Cancer?" and explain to them about Bone Cancer Awareness week and even what everyone is doing to raise money and awareness - it will only add a couple of minutes onto your appointment and who knows... you could be a limb and life saver!
Download a leaflet here or email it to your local surgery to let them know about Bone Cancer Awareness Week: http://www.bcrt.org.uk/content/PRIMARY-BONE-CANCER-leaflet.pdf.
All the information above can be found on the BCRT website and Facebook pages along with more stories from other people affected by Bone Cancer so be sure to check them out.
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