Geeta, now aged 28, was newly married and enjoying life as a young professional. One day in the bath, she discovered a golf ball-sized lump on the back of her leg with was diagnosed as an alveolar soft part sarcoma. Four years on, she is raising awareness of Sarcoma UK and the need for more research.  

I had recently got married and bought a home in 2019. Working as a full-time estate agent, I was in my prime time!

Then, in August 2020, I found a lump on my leg in the bath. I immediately booked an ultrasound via the GP.

After multiple X-rays, MRI scans and biopsies, they confirmed it was alveolar soft part sarcoma. After a full body CT scan, they also confirmed that I had multiple bilateral tumours in my lungs, and it was unfortunately at stage 4. This means that it is incurable.

Since my diagnosis, I have had surgery on my right leg to remove the lump, as well as the muscle around it, so my full hamstring has now been removed. I also had six weeks of radiotherapy in the area, and 12 infusions of immunotherapy, which is now ongoing for life.

It was difficult to cope, especially during the pandemic, which made hospital visits harder as I had to attend hospital on my own. Despite all of this, my friends and family really helped me get through it, especially my mum and husband Ankush.

I decided to raise funds for Sarcoma UK through my sponsored walk is because sarcoma is so rare. Before my diagnosis, I did not even know the word sarcoma existed let alone know what it was! I want to raise awareness so that people check lumps all over their body, and not just the most talked about areas.

Because there is no cure for my type of cancer, I want more research to be conducted into sarcoma, to hopefully find a cure and to understand the disease more, as other cancers are more common. There are more ways to manage other types, but I hope it will be possible to find something that manages cancers like mine, and hopefully get rid of them.

I want to encourage people to check for lumps all over their body regularly. I am determined to stay positive and have a wonderful future with my husband.