Raising awareness of the illness sarcoma
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
The Clare Byrne Show on Newstalk. With Aviva Insurance.
Now, specialist outreach clinics are going to be set up outside of Dublin for patients with sarcoma, which is a rare form of cancer that develops in bones and tissue. As it stands, patients are typically treated and monitored through services in Dublin. But a new partnership aims to raise awareness of the illness and improve access to treatment. I'm joined by the chairperson of an organisation called the Beatrice Pembroke Walsh Foundation, David Walsh, whose wife Beatrice died with sarcoma four years ago. And I'm also joined by consultant medical oncologist at St. Vincent's UCD Cancer Centre, Professor Mark Daugherty. And you're both very welcome to the programme. Thank you for being with us.
What is sarcoma and why is it significant?
So, David, I'm going to start with you because Beatrice died only four years ago and this foundation now is already doing great work. Do you want to tell me about what happened?
Yeah, so Beatrice and I were together for 30 years, married for 25 and blessed with three wonderful children, Patrick, Claudia and Christopher. And then in October 2022, Beatrice passed away after a very brave, dignified battle with this very rare cancer called Leomyosarcoma. It only affects six in a million people, predominantly women. So it's very, very rare. In September 2021 in St. James's Hospital, when Beatrice was diagnosed with this rare cancer, after the first round of chemotherapy at the age of 52, we were told she only had four weeks to live. So I'll never forget Beatrice's reaction. It wasn't anger at the late diagnosis. It wasn't fear of dying. She had a really strong faith and she was prepared to meet her maker whenever he called.
What a thing to be told, though.
Absolutely. And it wasn't even self-pity. She didn't talk about losing out on graduations or weddings or births. Her reaction was one of concern. The first thing she said was, how can we prevent this from happening to another woman?
How did the Beatrice Pembroke Walsh Foundation begin?
So we started the foundation, the Beatrice Prennbach Walsh Foundation, and its purpose is twofold. It's one is to build awareness so that those suffering with this rare cancer can be diagnosed earlier. Because we know, even though there's no cure, that if it's diagnosed earlier, then the lifespan can be much longer. You know, we got 12 months more than the most optimistic opinion that was given to us in St. James because we met Dr. Mark Daugherty, who understood the illness and put Beatrice on a different course of treatment. And we got 12 months more.
And she had a relatively good 12 months. I mean, your last 12 months with cancer is never going to be easy. But you say it was as good as it could have been.
It was as good as it could have been. And it was an amazing time in many, many ways. We were covered with a cloud of inevitability of what was going to happen. But it was a real opportunity for us to get to know each other again, if that makes sense. You know, I often describe myself and Beatrice often said, the last 12 months together was very much like the first 12 months together 30 years earlier. Really? It really was because you become very attentive. Everything means something, you know. And so we were very grateful to Mark and the team in St. Vincent's for giving us an extra 12 months. It was really important. But we do want to fund research as well. So early awareness is critically important. The research element is critically important.
And who knows, perhaps Beatrice's legacy might be that we find a cure for this disease one day.
But in the first instance, she wanted her legacy to be that there would be greater access to treatment and that there would be greater awareness of the symptoms of this.
Yeah, I mean, the early awareness by GPs particularly, but it is a very rare cancer, as I said, one in 166,000. That's what it is. So it's understandable that GPs are not up to speed in terms of recognising those early symptoms. But I've said this too, I was very fortunate and Beatrice was fortunate. I was able to quit work straight away when Beatrice was diagnosed and spent 24-7 with her.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:01–0:46
2
What is sarcoma and why is it significant?
0:46–2:00
3
How did the Beatrice Pembroke Walsh Foundation begin?
2:00–9:09
4
What challenges do patients face with sarcoma diagnosis?
9:09–15:09
5
What role does early diagnosis play in sarcoma treatment?
15:09–16:59
Speakers
4 identifiedMore from The Claire Byrne Show
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