My Story

In the summer of 2023, a few months before his 60th birthday, my dad was complaining of a backache, which he thought might have been an injury sustained playing tennis, and of feeling bloated. Fast forward a couple of months, and it turned out he actually had a tumour the size of a rugby ball, that had probably been there and growing in size for many years.

Following diagnostic surgery shortly before Christmas 2023, we discovered he had a sarcoma. Sarcomas are rare cancers that develop in the bones and soft tissues, including fat, muscles, blood vessels, nerves, deep skin tissues and fibrous tissues. His was so large and had been there for so long, that it had seriously damaged several of his organs, and was pressing on the artery supplying blood to the spine. The consultant explained how very unusual and rare this particular case was, and the surgery would have to be done 150 miles from where my mum and dad live.

In March 2024 he had surgery to remove the tumour, along with his spleen, pancreas, left kidney, part of his bowel, and some muscle from his back. The 13 hours of surgery went well, but the following months of recovery were not straight forward. He couldn’t eat or drink for 6 weeks, was vomiting several times a day, and his weight plummeted very low. What was left of his pancreas and gall bladder leaked bile into his blood, causing sepsis and putting him back into the ICU. At this point he had a suspected heart attack due to his heart having to work so hard to push the infected blood around, and one of his lungs starting shutting down.

Despite all the odds, he was able to leave hospital in May, and recover at home with the assistance of a daily nurse visit to check his drains and progress. He slowly began to be able to walk, eat and drink again, and build up his strength. The follow-up scans were positive, and the consultant was happy they had removed everything that was problematic.

Fast forward to November 2024, and my dad is getting stronger and healthier every day. Whilst we don’t know what the future holds, for now we are all so happy and grateful to everyone who helped my dad and us as a family through a very difficult year.

Sarcoma is extremely difficult to diagnose and one of the hardest cancers to treat, as I’ve unfortunately seen first hand. Watching a usually very strong and unfazed man battle this awful cancer makes me desperately want to raise awareness and funds for this charity so close to our family. I would run a thousand marathons if it meant my dad didn’t have to go through what he did. That’s why I've chosen to run the 2025 London Marathon for Sarcoma UK, a charity that funds vital research, offers support for anyone affected by sarcoma cancer and campaigns for better treatments.

Thank you for reading and for supporting me and my dad in any way you can.

Zo x