Sarcoma Awareness Month is celebrated every July.
Why do we have a Sarcoma Awareness Month?
Simply because sarcoma is still considered to be the “forgotten cancer.” It is under-researched too. By bringing awareness, there’s a potential development that might spark more research and studies in the future.
Due to the rarity of the disease, many people are not aware of sarcoma until diagnosis.
What is Sarcoma?
It is a rare but deadly form of cancer (carcinoma) affecting connective tissues in our body (muscle, nerves, cartilage, tendons, blood vessels and the fatty and fibrous tissues). It may ay also occur in the bones, which means it can arise anywhere, because, these tissues are found everywhere on the body. There are more than 70 sub-types of sarcoma.
Aside from surgery, other treatments for sarcoma are Radiation Therapy, Chemotherapy and Targeted Therapy. If a patient’s sarcoma cells are likely to respond to targeted therapy drugs (a drug treatment that uses medicines to attack specific weaknesses in cancer cells), then it could be a better treatment method.
It affects more than 50,000 Americans including their families and friends who are by their side.
Drugs Approved for Soft Tissue Sarcoma
- Cosmegen (Dactinomycin)
- Dactinomycin
- Doxorubicin Hydrochloride
- Eribulin Mesylate
- Gleevec (Imatinib Mesylate)
- Halaven (Eribulin Mesylate)
- Imatinib Mesylate
- Pazopanib Hydrochloride
- Tazemetostat Hydrobromide
- Tazverik (Tazemetostat Hydrobromide)
- Trabectedin
- Votrient (Pazopanib Hydrochloride)
- Yondelis (Trabectedin)
Sources:
- Sarcoma Foundation of America
- Outsource Solutions International
- National Cancer Institute