There are thousands of people living with and beyond primary bone cancer around the world. Please stand with us on #WorldCancerDay to ensure that bone cancer is not left in the shadows.
Taking place on 4th February every year, World Cancer Day is a global initiative to improve awareness and knowledge of cancer to better detect and treat it.
This year marks the beginning of the official three-year United by Unique campaign. By sharing real stories with unique perspectives, we are bringing our community together to unite against bone cancer. Calling for a people-centred approach to care, the campaign advocates for each patient's individual needs to achieve the best outcome possible.
Claire's story
Claire Moody, from the USA, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in her thigh bone (femur) in 2012 and died in 2016 at just 24 years old.
There is an urgent need for personalised treatment that puts patients, like Claire, and their individual needs first to make drugs more effective and minimise side effects.
Going the extra mile
Meet the Moody family, who are bringing us closer to a cure for bone cancer one marathon at a time!Collectively, they have run over 200 miles for bone cancer research, raising vital funds on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
A parent's perspective
Ben's daughter, Claire, was just 24 years old when she died in August 2016 after living with osteosarcoma for four years.
In January 2025 GSK, a global pharmaceutical company, announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had granted special approval to their drug for relapsed osteosarcoma patients.
Nearly ten years since his daughter's death, Ben shares what this means to him.
Facilitating international research
In case you missed it, we have supported new research that helps better our understanding of the genetic changes leading to osteosarcoma.Patient sample analysis, made possible in part by our Infrastructure Grants, has provided insight to a team of experts.
Get involved this World Cancer Day...
Your support can make all the difference. Please join us to raise awareness, fund research, and offer hope to those impacted. Below are several ways to get involved:
Turn Upside Down for bone cancer patients
This year, we're calling on our community to take part in the Upside Down Challenge in support of bone cancer patients.
All you need to do is share a photograph of yourself upside down, together with your personal story about how bone cancer has impacted you. It's the easiest and most eye-catching way to raise awareness!
- Flip a photograph of yourself upside down
- Start with the sentence 'bone cancer turned my world upside down...'
- Post it to your social media page using #UntilTheresACure
- Tag us so we can see your story!
Sharing your journey with bone cancer can help others, raise awareness, and inspire people to support our life-saving work.
Wear a ribbon, fund vital research
Primary bone cancer can turn lives upside down. Our research can help turn it around.
Buy a ribbon and help fund our life-changing research this World Cancer Day. Wear yours proudly this February and beyond to help save lives.
Educate yourself
Primary bone cancers are cancers that originate in a cell found in the bone. They can develop in any bone in the body, though over a third of cases (34%) are found in the long bones of the lower body - such as the thigh (femur) or shin bone (tibia). There are several types of primary bone cancer, below are links to find out more about each form. The most common are:
There are also several less common forms of tumours, these are:
- Spindle Cell Sarcoma of the Bone
- Adamantinoma
- Angiosarcoma of the Bone
- Giant Cell Tumour of the Bone (a non-cancerous tumour)
- Ameloblastoma (a non-cancerous tumour)
Our short video below shows real patients outlining some of the symptoms to be aware of:
Help raise awareness
Help promote awareness in your local community! Request a FREE awareness pack now and share it with friends, display it in your community hall or coffee shop, or even take it to your own GP and / or Dentist and ask them to read it. It doesn't have to be just for #WorldCancerDay, you can help raise vital awareness any time of the year!
If you're a healthcare professional, we have a dedicated hub where you can access FREE education resources about the signs and symptoms of primary bone cancer and tumour.
Other ways to get involved
For World Cancer Day we will be sharing patient stories and life-saving information to help raise #BoneCancerAwareness amongst the public.
Get involved on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Bluesky and TikTok by sharing, liking and commenting on our posts to help us reach as many people as possible!