Chris was diagnosed with Sarcoma in February 2014. He had found a lump in his armpit the previous September. Various diagnoses followed, including lymphoma, but none had the correct profile. Eventually it was confirmed that it was cancer but no one knew what type. He was told he had a secondary tumour of unknown primary origin. Chris began chemotherapy just before Christmas 2013 and whilst the tumour did not increase in size, neither did it reduce. So in the February it was decided to remove the tumour, which was subsequently analysed. Only then, 6 months after discovering the growth, was he told he had Sarcoma. Chris died twenty months later. The difficulty in diagnosis that Chris experienced is true of so many Sarcoma patients.

Sarcoma UK(SUK) has launched a Genomics Research Project, using the samples gathered in the 100,000 Genomes Project, to reveal the genome profile of Sarcoma and thereby increase the speed and accuracy of diagnosis. Knowing the genomic profile will also help to provide more appropriately targeted treatment and thereby increase survival rates.

Thank you for reading Chris story, for supporting us and Sarcoma UK.