Aylesbury family don Santa suits for charity after rare cancer ordeal
A family in Aylesbury are taking on a Santa challenge this Christmas to raise funds for charity after their own rare cancer ordeal.
Laura Isom, her husband Paul, and 16-year-old son Harry who live in Stoke Mandeville, will join thousands of Santas walking and running through central London.
Laura had an extremely rare cancerous tumour removed from her arm, national charity Sarcoma UK has revealed.
They are among more than 3,000 participants that have signed up for Santa in the City, where people will be moving through London to generate funds for the charity.
It has been revealed that the charity provided crucial information to Laura, 58, after her diagnosis.
Sarcoma UK says she was diagnosed with liposarcoma after a painful six-centimetre lump appeared on her forearm in March and began pressing on her radial nerve. The HR manager underwent surgery in June, followed by radiotherapy, and is now back at work but is having scans every three months, the charity adds.
A spokesperson revealed: “It was in March this year that Laura started having problems with the grip on her left hand. A couple of days later, a painful lump appeared on her forearm. Not sure what was wrong, I had a video consultation with a doctor who immediately said she needed an operation.
"A couple of weeks later, she saw a specialist, and an MRI scan confirmed her worst fears – Laura had liposarcoma, a rare form of cancer.”
“My family were devastated, really shaken,” said Laura. “My son Harry was in the middle of his GCSEs, and I had to wait until half term to tell him.”
Sarcoma UK adds that the lump, which was pressing on her radial nerve, was growing quickly and reached six centimetres in size before Laura had surgery to remove the tumour in June. This was followed by radiotherapy.
She is back at work now, but is having scans every three months to monitor her health, the charity confirmed.
Sarcoma UK says that like many patients who contract the disease, Laura first heard of it when she was diagnosed. Laura said: “I have never really done any charity fundraising but I wanted to do something for sarcoma and raise awareness. Everyone I spoke to had never heard of sarcoma, and there are not so many treatment options for sarcoma as other cancers.”
During the walk the Isom family will pass some of London’s best known landmarks including St Paul’s Cathedral, the River Thames, Millennium Bridge and Tower Bridge. So far the family have raised £1,660, with £1,000 donated by Laura’s employer, Esri UK.
Kate Quillin, acting head of research at Sarcoma UK, said: “We are investing nearly £400,000 in two groundbreaking research projects led by Dr Zoë Walters at the University of Southampton, specifically focused on liposarcoma - the very type of sarcoma that affected Laura.
“For patients like Laura who are living with the uncertainty of regular scans and the fear of recurrence, research like this offers real hope - hope for treatments that are not only more effective but also spare patients from the debilitating side effects of current therapies."