For six years, Mel Leverton was reassured that her neck and shoulder pain was simply a trapped nerve caused by collapsed vertebrae. Scans were taken. Consultations happened. Surgery was offered. But nobody spotted the pear-shaped tumour growing silently in her shoulder – until it had reached 14 centimetres and attached itself to her heart and lungs.
By the time the 54-year-old from Nantwich finally received her sarcoma diagnosis in June 2024, the rare cancer had advanced and surgery was no longer an option. Now receiving palliative care, Mel is channeling her energy into raising awareness so other patients don’t slip through the cracks of a system that repeatedly missed the signs.
Mel had been seeing a spinal consultant for her pains. Scans taken over the six years had suggested that collapsed vertebrae in her neck had caused a trapped nerve. Early in 2024, she was told she could either live with the pain or have an operation on the vertebrae. Mel – who had been losing weight and had trouble sleeping due to the problem – opted for surgery and went on a waiting list.
In June last year, she had a new consultant who told Mel he wanted a new MRI scan taken. Afterwards, Mel was given the news that the scan had found a pear-shaped mass in her shoulder attached to her heart and lungs that was 14cm in diameter. ‘This was a massive shock,’ she said. A biopsy took place and Mel was told she had a soft tissue sarcoma. There was no visible lump as the tumour was concealed in her shoulder. With surgery ruled out due to the location of the tumour, Mel began chemotherapy at the Royal Stoke Hospital in Staffordshire that October. In addition, a smaller tumour was found at the top of her abdomen.
She had chemotherapy every 21 days until the end of March 2025. After a three-month break, she resumed a new chemotherapy treatment, which is continuing.
Despite her ordeal, she remains upbeat. ‘I’m a strong ox, a glass half-full type of person,’ she said. A product line co-ordinator with Bentley Motors, she has been able to work from home all the way through her treatment.
But she can’t help wondering that if her sarcoma had been spotted earlier she would have been able to have it surgically removed.
Through it all, she has been supported by her partner and two grown-up children and has also found fundraising for charity Sarcoma UK has given her something to focus on. A recent coffee morning at Richmond Villages care home in Nantwich raised £2,000 and a Christmas quiz is planned for the same venue.
‘I want to promote more awareness and specifically more training for doctors on spotting the symptoms of sarcoma. If my tumour had been spotted earlier, something might have been done before it got to this size.’
Helen Stradling, Sarcoma UK’s Support Line Manager, said: ‘Mel’s story shows just how challenging sarcomas can be to diagnose – they sometimes hide deep in the body with symptoms that can easily be mistaken for more common conditions. By the time they’re detected, as in Mel’s case, treatment options can be severely limited and patients may face palliative care rather than curative treatment. That’s why raising awareness is so important, and we’re incredibly grateful to Mel for her dedication to fundraising and helping others understand the signs. Her determination to turn her experience into something positive for other patients is really inspiring.’
