Linda’s story – improving early diagnosis can save lives

‘A GP sees one sarcoma in a lifetime of practice, but they shouldn’t be complacent’ says Linda Galbraith.

Linda started having nose bleeds for the first time in her forties in 2003. She didn’t receive a diagnosis until 2007 when her sarcoma, which had pushed her eye out of its socket, was 9.5cm in size. She’d already had 11 medical appointments by that point.   

Patients often have to see their GP multiple times before their symptoms are taken seriously. 35% of sarcoma patients saw a healthcare professional more than 3 times before they were referred for further tests. 

Sarcoma patients are likely to see their GP more times than across all cancers. This is particularly bad for bone sarcomas, who were three times as likely to see their GP five or more times compared to all cancers (7% vs 21.4%). Almost half of bone sarcoma patients (45.2%) has to see their GP three or more times before being diagnosed. 

One of the symptoms of sarcoma is a growing lump. There is no standard way of measuring lumps and bumps, and any measurements recorded by professionals may not be measured in the same way. Because of this, Sarcoma UK is creating a resource to help patients measure and track a visible lump. This will give patients information and pictures to show their GP, enhancing their chance of referral for further tests where necessary. 

‘If someone has recurring symptoms then GPs should think about imaging the patient’ says Linda. ‘My sarcoma would have been found three years earlier if that had happened, and I wouldn’t have the same collateral damage that I have now. I had to have my face rebuilt.’

Improving early diagnosis is essential for survival. For every 1cm increase in the size of a soft-tissue sarcoma at diagnosis, there is a 3-5% decrease in the chance of cure. 

Here’s what we’re doing to ensure healthcare professionals are aware of and including sarcoma in their list of potential diagnoses.  

As Linda says, one of the various symptoms of sarcoma is for the pain to be worse at night. 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. 

This leads those with sarcoma not to recognise their symptoms as potentially being a cancer. We want to change that.  

Visit Do I Have Sarcoma? This resource simply and clearly describes both the symptoms of sarcoma, and also what to do if you think you have these symptoms.