A woman was prescribed antibiotics three times for what was thought to be an infected cyst in her leg. In fact, she had a rare sarcoma cancer.
Kate Oppenheimer, 65, from Hampton, Middlesex, later had part of her left leg amputated below the knee. Now she is walking to raise funds for Sarcoma UK.
It was 2018 when Kate first complained of a swollen area on the side of her shin. Her GP suggested she had fluid in her tissue. As it was painful, Kate decided to pay for lymphatic drainage massage, which helped somewhat but the problem continued.
About the end of 2019, her mother and step-father were both diagnosed with terminal cancer. Kate believes the stress caused by this worsened the condition of her leg, which by now had a lump.
It was not until June 2020, after her mother had died, that she returned to her GP. The antibiotics did not work, so Kate arranged an ultrasound privately, and this led to a referral to the specialist cancer hospital, the Royal Marsden in London.
In September 2020 she received the results of a biopsy and was given the shocking news that she had grade 2 myxofibrosarcoma. An average of 178 cases are diagnosed every year in England. Doctors told her she would need radiotherapy, then surgery to remove the tumour.
After five weeks of daily radiotherapy, the operation took place in December 2020. To reconstruct her lower leg, muscle was taken from her upper leg, which left her with a scar from her groin to her kneecap. She also had a skin graft. ‘They took as much as they could without me losing the leg,’ she said. A lengthy rehabilitation followed, including nine months on crutches.
But her ordeal was not over. Towards the end of 2023, Kate noticed a red patch over her ankle, below where the tumour had been. Scans came back clear but in late 2025 she was ‘floored’ by the news that her sarcoma had returned.
A second operation was needed – this time an amputation below the knee in January 2026. Kate later received a prosthetic limb and has been making progress since. She even took part in a fundraising walk for Sarcoma UK in Wales earlier this year.
Kate is philosophical about the two-year delay in her initial diagnosis. ‘It is a shame it was not picked up earlier. But it was so rare you can’t expect a GP to know what it was,’ she said.
Emotionally, it was a hard time for Kate, whose step-father also died in 2020. She said: ‘I am a positive person and look for the best in things. That has helped me through. I have to look at the positive. I am here. The rest of me is OK and I plan for that to continue. All that’s been compromised is my mobility. All I need to do is walk.’ A grandmother, Kate has been supported by her husband Paul, two children, and the rest of her family and friends.
Kate, who is retired and used to work in IT, heard about Sarcoma UK during her treatment and found information and resources on the charity’s website ‘useful and inspiring’.
She will now walk at the Rare But Real event at Gunnersbury Park, West London, on Sunday 1 November, to help fund research into cancers like myxofibrosarcoma.
Sarcoma UK’s Director of Fundraising and Communications, Kerry Reeves-Kneip, said: ‘Kate has faced a cancer that most people have never heard of, and she has done it with remarkable positivity despite all that was happening in her life. Sarcoma is rare, which means it too often goes unrecognised, and research into it is chronically underfunded. Kate walking at Gunnersbury Park will help change that. Funds raised at Rare But Real events help to pay for research that can lead to earlier diagnosis and better treatments, so that fewer people go through what Kate has.’
To donate to Kate, go to https://www.justgiving.com/page/kate-oppenheimer-2?utm_medium=FA&utm_source=CL
