The Bone Cancer Research Trust and Sarcoma UK have joined forces to support The National Sarcoma Awareness Project. This initiative is aimed at educating final year medical students and postgraduate doctors about sarcoma, ensuring they are equipped with the skills to spot these cancers and understand how they are managed.
The Bone Cancer Research Trust and Sarcoma UK are united in their mission to improve the time to diagnosis for sarcoma patients.
Both charities hear all too often of patients seeking medical advice for many months, sometimes years, before receiving an accurate diagnosis, with many bouncing between different healthcare professionals; unfortunately, delayed diagnoses, unplanned excisions, and late presentations are a feature of sarcoma clinical practice.
We know that medical students continue to receive limited education on sarcoma during their degree and have limited exposure to sarcoma patients, which means that our doctors of the future may not understand the red flag symptoms, referral pathways and how the care of these patients is managed. It also means that limited young doctors will choose to specialise in this area of oncology.
To address this, and improve the diagnostic experience for future patients, the Bone Cancer Research Trust and Sarcoma UK teemed up with Mr Chandrasekar, a consultant orthopaedic oncology surgeon at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in 2013 to fund the the National Sarcoma Awareness Project (NSAP).
For the past decade, NSAP has grown, more than 2250 students and doctors have participated in the educational project and 48 funded fellowships have been provided to highly scoring individuals and completed successfully.
Recent feedback from junior doctors and medical students has been positive and reflect the aims of this project in driving an increased awareness of sarcoma:
The National Sarcoma Awareness Project granted me unparalleled exposure to this rare cancer. I wish ALL doctors had such an opportunity.
I think junior doctors, GPs and any others that may encounter sarcoma need to recognise the main concerning symptoms or red flags.
An incredible opportunity to see the management of sarcoma at a different centre and collaborate with experts in the field.
Now led by Dr Corey Chan (Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust), Ms Heledd Harard (Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital, London), Mr David Boddie (NHS Grampian), Mr Ather Siddiqui and Professor Thomas Cosker (Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust), the National Sarcoma Awareness Project (NSAP) aims to:
- Continue to expand NSAP to promote awareness and education to doctors/trainees/AHPs
- Engage with RCGP to provide regular structured training to GP trainees
- Engage with AHPs (especially physiotherapists) to widen awareness at multiple points of contact.
NSAP is currently open to all UK medical students and foundation doctors, with the annual competition currently open until the 31st of October 2024.
Participants sign up to the project and undertake several e-learning modules, and then complete a short question bank to test their knowledge with top scorers being awarded a funded short-term fellowship to a sarcoma centre.
To access recommended materials please contact awareness@bcrt.org.uk.
To complete the questions and submit your answers please Click here
