An NHS nurse whose leg was amputated after an “extremely rare” cancer -like tumor was found in her calf, talked about entering “survival mode” to remain her diagnosis and “positive”.
Sophie Fay, 26, an intensive care nurse for four years, lives in MerseSide with her father, Paul Fay, 67.
For the first time she saw a “painful” pain behind her right knee in March 2024. After he recently called in a personal trainer, Mrs. Fay initially rejected the pain as a muscle injury.
However, when her calf became “swollen” and “hot to touch”, and colleagues noticed the visible difference, she sought medical help.
After she was told that her symptoms could be caused by a blood clot or a muscular problem, Mrs. Fay's deteriorating pains led her to insist on further answers, especially when she found that her right -hand gall was “six centimeters larger than the other”.
Mrs. Fay had her leg amputated above the knee in December 2024 (Collect/PA Real Life)
Mrs. Fay had an MRI scan in November 2024, which unveiled a large tumor “seized the whole of (hair) calf”, and the masses were diagnosed as spindle cell arocom of the bone, an extremely rare soft tissue tumor.
Because her blood vessels and nerves through the tumor were “fully encapsulated”, Mrs. Fay was informed that the only option was an amputation from above, which she received in December 2024 and she now adapts to life with a prosthesis.
Mrs. Fay shares her story as part of the Bone Cancer Awareness Week of Bone Cancer Research Trust, which runs from 6 to 12 October, to increase the consciousness of its symptoms and to prevent others from falling through the cracks “.
“It was a huge shock, but it felt like the best chance of leading a normal life afterwards,” she told real life.
“In survival mode, the diagnosis helped me to process and thus remain positive in the recovery period.
“The only thing I wanted was no more cancer, and I thought once it is gone, I can deal with that.
“You get the realization with something like that our days are numbered and we are not all invincible.”
Mrs Fay said she started exercising with a personal trainer in March 2024, but in the following weeks she noticed that she felt a “painful” pain behind the knee of her right leg.
“It would just happen if I trained, but I remember taking a walk and I thought the back of my knee was really painful,” she said.
Mr. Fay described survival mode after the operation of survival mode, although the procedure went as smoothly as possible (collect/PA Real Life)
She noticed that the pain became 'gradually worse' in the coming months, to the point that her leg would even hurt with light activity.
At the end of August 2024, Mrs. Fay prepared for a late service at work when she noticed that her leg was “swollen” and “warm to touch”.
“I now also had a visible weak, because it hurt when I walked,” she said.
“My colleagues noticed that it was swollen and they suggested that it could be a small blood clot in my leg.”
Mrs. Fay explained that her intensive care district contains 'mini -ultrasone machines', and a consultant suggested doing a scan on the back of her leg.
The scan was not decisive, Mrs. Fay said, and she was advised to go to the A&E department of her hospital.
It was thought there that Mrs. Fay could suffer from a muscular injury.
“I didn't really know better then, I thought it could probably be muscular – what it was ultimately was so far from my thoughts, it was unreal,” she said.
After having had a more thorough investigation on her leg, Fay was told that she could have a bakery's cyst, a liquid -filled lump on the back of the knee that according to the NHS can sometimes get better.
Mrs. Fay said that she was 'happy' with the diagnosis because the symptoms she felt seemed to be similar.
By November 2024, however, Mrs. Fay said that the pain became 'constant' and that she could no longer bend her leg.
Medici told the nurse that there was no way that her leg could be saved (collect/pa real life)
“My calf was huge, I think it was six centimeters bigger than my other,” she said.
Mrs. Fay sought further help from her doctor, who recommended that she saw a physiotherapist, but awaiting the appointment she felt something “not good”.
Instead, she went to a walk -in health center, where it was advised that she has a complete ultrasound on her leg.
After the scan, Mrs. Fay said she had been sent to the Urgent Care Center in her hospital for further exams, and a few days later she underwent an MRI scan on November 11, 2024.
The next morning, on November 12, 2024, Fay was asked to return to receive her results and said she thought: “Oh no, this is fast”,
Mrs. Fay said that she was told that her scan had unveiled a large tumor in her calf, which was thought to be primary bone cancer.
“I just lost my head, there were all kinds of crazy things that went through me,” said Mrs. Fay.
“I had a little knowledge about cancer and cancer care with my work, and I couldn't help it, but I thought it was a death sentence.
“I was really emotional and the worst was to know that I had to go home and tell my father.”
She was signed and referred to Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopedic Hospital in Shropshire.
After a biopsy, MS Fay was diagnosed on November 29, 2024 with spindle cell camoma of the bone-a extremely rare tumor for soft tissue, according to the Bot Cancer Research Trust.
Such tumors usually occur in patients over 40 years of age and are extremely rare, so that only 2-5 percent of all cases make up primary bone cancer, says the charity institution.
Mrs. Fay said it took a long time to get used to walking with a prosthetic leg (collect/pa real life)
Mrs. Fay was told that her only feasible treatment option would be amputation because her blood vessels and nerves were “completely encapsulated” by the tumor.
“They showed me a picture of my scan, and the tumor takes it all of my calf,” she said.
“There was no way to safely remove it to let me with a functioning leg.”
Mrs. Fay received an amputation on December 17, 2024 and she said that the operation and her healing process were “very flexible”.
However, adjusting to the use of a prosthetic was “very difficult”, and she initially found it “tiring” to walk short distances.
“It is reassuring to know that this is the most difficult that it will ever be,” she said.
“As time passes, I get better prosthetic parts, a better socket and knee joint, things that make it easier.”
Mrs. Fay will now have a scan every three months for the next two years to check potential cancer recurrences.
She is also back to work, in a non-clinical setting for the time being, where she noticed that she feels “more emotional” after her experience.
Mrs. Fay shares her story to mark Bone Cancer Awareness Week through the Bone Cancer Research Trust, the leading charity of the UK that focuses on combating primary bone cancer.
“If sharing my story means that bone cancer is spoken more about healthcare, that's the most important thing,” she said.
For more information, visit the website for the Bone Cancer Research Trust here: bcrt.org.uk
