As the Earth turns, sometimes too fast for all of us, and while July slowly falls into place, a varying amount of national days, weeks, and months begin to show themselves for yet another year. This month is nothing short of truly important and should be to everyone. Although many other days are dedicated to spreading awareness for various healthcare conditions or workers, the month of July has also been deemed Sarcoma Awareness Month. This month is dedicated to spreading awareness for the varying types of cancer that fall under the category of sarcoma.
This broad range of cancers begins in soft tissues and bones with the possibility that they can spread to other locations of the body. Sarcomas that form in soft tissue will develop in tissues that connect, support or surround other body structures such as muscle, blood vessels, nerves, tendons, fat, and the lining of joints. This information is known that sarcoma is, in fact, a broad term; this does not describe just one type of cancer; in fact, there are more than 70 different types of sarcomas out there. However, one thing that is in common with all of these is that sarcoma can often be coined as the “forgotten cancer.”
There are a handful of ways you can support sarcoma awareness this month and every month of the year. Although the most significant way to assist is through donating to sarcoma research, there are many other helpful methods for furthering sarcoma awareness, such as sharing posts on social media or even making your own. The Sarcoma Foundation of America has a profile @CuraSarcoma that can be tagged in social media posts using the hashtag #SarcomaAwarenessMonth. Additionally, if you’d like to support sarcoma awareness in daily life, this category of cancer is represented by a yellow ribbon.
Importance of Sarcoma Awareness
As with any awareness campaign, spreading awareness to others can help immensely as it assists in bringing more attention to the cause, which can further research and save more lives. However, because this category of cancer is still often dubbed “forgotten,” the act of furthering research can be pretty difficult without a robust support system. This disease is usually in the dark of most advocacy and awareness campaigns, affecting more than fifty-thousand patients worldwide daily.
By 2022, it has been estimated by the Sarcoma Foundation that 17,100 people just in the United States will be diagnosed with sarcoma, over 7,000 of those resulting in death. Awareness campaigns such as Sarcoma Awareness fight to lower these estimates and save more lives by furthering research on this deadly disease. The world is in dire need of new methods and tactics to approach treatment for various types of sarcoma. While surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation are all current options that sometimes work, nearly half of sarcoma cases are entirely immune to these types of treatment. Spreading awareness on all of this will not only bring it more into the public eye but also assist in raising more funds so it will be possible to bring new treatment methods to life.
Honoring Sarcoma Patients
Although this is mainly written to spread awareness of Sarcoma Awareness Month and ways to support the research and battle against sarcoma, we at Nursa would also like to honor those who have lost the battle to sarcoma or are still vigorously fighting, especially one of the internets shining stars who may have failed to sarcoma, but has most definitely left a long-lasting legacy that will never be forgotten. The world recently lost someone who inspired many and filled others fighting with a firm hope that can’t be beaten, the famous Youtuber, Technoblade, now known as Alexander.
From the moment he announced his diagnosis to his friends and fans, he took it in strides, keeping the same optimism and humor that will forever be missed. Alex never let his diagnosis knock him down and maintained an intense battle until the end. The Sarcoma Foundation of America has also written something in his honor which you can view here; he will also be honored at their Annual Stand Up to Sarcoma Gala which takes place in New York City on September 28th, 2022. We send our strongest condolences to his family, friends, and fans alike; we truly lost a bright and beautiful soul.
We urge those currently in a battle against sarcoma never to give up the struggle. Your bravery is genuinely magnificent and helps many others fighting the same battle worldwide; we commend you and wish you the best.
