Five friends will on Saturday 15 March climb Wales’ highest peak in tribute to an inspirational 32-year-old pharmacy technician from Swindon facing a terminal sarcoma cancer diagnosis after an 18-month wait for proper care.
The women will tackle Mount Snowdon to honour their friend Gemma Phillips, who has an incurable cancer that went undiagnosed for 18 critical months despite her persistent symptoms.
Gemma, 32, a pharmacy technician from Wroughton near Swindon, began experiencing severe back pain in 2020 but was repeatedly sent home with painkillers and a possible diagnosis of irritable bowel syndrome. It wasn’t until March 2022 that she was finally diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma—a rare cancer with only about 525 cases diagnosed annually in England.
In 2020 Gemma started to experience back pain and saw her GP. She was sent for an ultrasound, but nothing was found. At this time, she was told she may have irritable bowel syndrome.
The pain was getting worse to the point she said it was ‘taking over my life’. After further appointments with medics, she was eventually referred to a consultant and another scan found a mass in her abdomen.
In March 2022 – some 18 months after first seeing a GP – she was diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma. Gemma received this horrible news via text message while she was at work. She was referred to the hospital, and the tumour, which measured 10cm, was removed in May 2022.
The following year, the pains in her back and side returned. A PET scan in October 2023 revealed she had three new tumours – the cancer was spreading. Gemma was told her illness was incurable and that she had between 12 and 18 months to live. She has since received chemotherapy and radiotherapy to help prolong her life and to help with the pain.
Gemma said of her delayed diagnosis: ‘I am really frustrated at the way I was treated. If I had been diagnosed earlier, it would have potentially prevented a lot of suffering. But I was just fobbed off with painkillers. I was turned away constantly. I was thinking “am I going mad?”‘
On having an incurable illness, she said: ‘It is difficult to realise this is happening to you, that your body has been taken over by this disease.’ Gemma has been documenting her experiences on TikTok @gemphillipsx.
One of her five friends taking part in Saturday’s sponsored climb of the 3,560ft Mount Snowdon is Julia Young, 32, from Gloucester.
Julia said: ‘It’s honestly hard to think about how Gemma’s diagnosis has affected me as it just doesn’t feel real. When we meet up it is hard to believe that she is currently fighting this devastating disease. She looks so well and she’s always so positive. She is an inspiration to us all and I am in utter awe of her and proud to be her friend. Throughout this journey, she has never given up fighting and has lived her life to the full. She is constantly on the go whether that’s at the stables, out with her friends or going on holiday.
‘Even when she was failed by the people who are meant to look after our health, after not diagnosing her with leiomyosarcoma for a year-and-a-half, she hasn’t once shown any anger towards them. She is such a brave person to want to share her story and relive it time and time again by documenting it on her TikTok.’
The other climbers are Carmela Booth-Williams, Harriet Stevens, Lauren King and Sarah Edmonds.
Sarcoma UK’s Director of Research, Policy and Support, Dr Sorrel Bickley, said: ‘At Sarcoma UK, we’ve committed over £600,000 to five groundbreaking research projects specifically targeting leiomyosarcoma, the rare cancer affecting Gemma Phillips. These studies range from exploring immunotherapy combinations and creating tumour ‘avatars’ to investigating the cellular matrix and identifying genetic markers that predict drug effectiveness. This research is crucial for patients like Gemma, whose diagnosis was tragically delayed by 18 months.
‘Early detection is vital with sarcomas, but equally important is developing effective treatments for patients with advanced disease. Our researchers are working to understand drug resistance and identify targeted therapies that could provide better outcomes than standard chemotherapy. While these studies won’t change Gemma’s incurable diagnosis today, they represent our commitment to transforming the future landscape of leiomyosarcoma treatment – potentially extending lives, reducing side effects, and eventually moving toward personalised medicine approaches that match the right treatment to each individual patient. Every pound invested brings us closer to better outcomes for the 525 people diagnosed with leiomyosarcoma in England each year.’
To donate to the appeal, go to Carmela, Sarah, Julia, Lauren and Harriet is fundraising for Sarcoma UK
