July is Sarcoma Awareness Month.
Sarcomas are uncommon cancers that can affect any part of your body. A key symptom of sarcoma is a lump that gets bigger quickly.
There are many different types of sarcoma. All subtypes of sarcoma can be grouped into soft tissue sarcomas and bone sarcomas.
Sarcomas commonly affect the arms, legs and torso. Sarcomas can also appear in the stomach and intestines as well as behind the abdomen and internal reproductive organs.
The main symptoms of sarcoma are:
A lump which is growing, changing, or bigger than a golf ball
Swelling, tenderness or pain in or around the bone which may come and go and may be worse at night
Stomach pain, feeling sick, loss of appetite or feeling full after eating only a small amount of food
Blood in either your poo or vomit
It is important to remember most lumps and pains are not sarcomas, and this list doesn’t cover everything.
Sarcoma is very rare, making up less than 2% of all cancers diagnosed in the UK each year.
For more information please visit www.sarcoma.org.uk
