PARALYMPIC HERO HELPS SARCOMA UK GET ON THE BALL AGAINST CANCER
Paralympic champion Richard Whitehead MBE launches Sarcoma Awareness Week by calling on
Britons to seek immediate medical advice if they find a lump larger than a golf ball
Birmingham, 23rd June 2014 - Cancer charity Sarcoma UK is joining forces with gold medal winning
paralympian Richard Whitehead MBE to get On The Ball against sarcoma, a rare form of bone and
soft tissue cancer that affects thousands of Britons every year, many of them aged under 30.
The campaign marks the beginning of annual Sarcoma Awareness Week (23-29 June) and calls on
anyone who discovers a lump on their body larger than a golf ball (roughly 5cm across) to seek
immediate medical advice.
To support it, Sarcoma UK will also be distributing hundreds of On The Ball information packs, which
people can take to their GP to help them diagnose the disease as early as possible. The pack outlines
the signs and symptoms of sarcoma and provides guidance on how to refer patients to specialists for
diagnosis and treatment.
Speaking at On The Ball’s official launch at Birmingham’s Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, Richard
Whitehead MBE said:
“I am proud to be Sarcoma UK’s Patron and will always support the incredible work that they do.
During my ’40 marathons in 40 days’ challenge I saw first-hand just how important early diagnosis of
sarcoma is. I am backing their On the Ball campaign, to help people who are going through such a
terrible ordeal. I hope the public order an information pack and take it to their GP - from Sarcoma
Awareness Week and beyond!”
Lindsey Bennister, Chief Executive, Sarcoma UK, said:
“We know that early diagnosis of sarcoma saves lives and we need public support to help us make
this happen. By ordering an On the Ball pack and giving it to your GP at your next appointment, you
may just save the life of the person sat in the GP’s waiting room behind you.”
Most cases of sarcoma begin with a lump that grows in size and becomes increasingly painful to
touch. Of the 13,000 current cases in the UK, almost all fall into one of three categories: soft tissue
cancers; primary bone cancers; and gastro-intestinal stromal tumours (GIST).
Patients tend to be younger than other cancer sufferers, with 16 per cent of diagnoses made in
people aged under 30 compared to just two per cent for all types of cancer combined. Yet
worryingly, many instances of sarcoma still go undiagnosed until lumps reach around 10cm in size,
reducing survival hopes by as much as 20% compared to other European countries where diagnoses
are often made much earlier.
This is a statistic with which twenty year old Jordan Anderton is only too familiar. He successfully
fought sarcoma whilst still a teenager despite initially being told by his GP that he simply had a
benign fatty lump. Rather than accept the diagnosis, he pushed for specialist medical advice and was
able to catch the disease early enough for it to be treated effectively.
Jordan Anderton said:
“I can still hear the doctor telling me the lump was nothing to worry about and that there was no
need to have it removed. Fortunately, my mum helped me get a hospital appointment where they
diagnosed me with sarcoma. That gave me enough time to overcome it but I know that things could
have been so much worse if we hadn’t got a specialist consultation when we did.”
Sarcoma UK is the country’s only cancer charity focusing on all types of sarcoma. It aims to help
more people survive the disease by: seeking answers through research; providing support and
information for patients, families and carers; and raising awareness to improve the standards of
treatment and care.
For more information about sarcoma and symptoms, visit www.sarcoma.org.uk.
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Notes to Editors
For Jordan’s full story and more sarcoma case studies, or for launch images and interviews with
Sarcoma UK spokespeople, including Richard Whitehead MBE, contact:

Ali Minto – Edelman: 020 3047 2258; [email protected]

Isabelle Salib – Edelman: 020 3047 2394; [email protected]