Rosie May Fisher can’t remember when she first noticed a pea-sized lump on her left palm.
The painless massa growth of cells that come together to make a lump, may or may not be cancer had been there for around 12 years, the 32-year-old single mother said.
When she asked her GP to check it she was sent for scans which came back clear – twice.
She was told it was probably just a cyst.
But a few years later, after the birth of her son Bobby, the lump began to hurt.
Fisher, a hairdresser who lives on the Gold Coast but is from Merimbula in NSW, was worried.
“I started back at work and it started to get in the way, driving was difficult, it would hurt if I banged it,” Fisher told 9news.com.au.
She returned to her local doctor and asked for it to be removed.
The doctor agreed, and without further tests she was put on a surgerytreatment involving removal of cancerous tissue and/or tumours and a margin of healthy tissue around it to reduce recurrence waiting list for Gold Coast Hospital.
Single mother Rosie May Fisher, 32, can’t remember when she first noticed a pea-sized lump on her left palm- it had been there for years. (Supplied)
Long wait for surgery
After waiting for a year she finally had the operation in October of last year, leaving her with a huge cast on her arm.
But a week later when she returned to have her dressing changed she was given a sudden update.
“My surgeon came in with a really serious face and said, ‘We need to have a chat, it’s something quite serious, take a deep breath,'” Fisher said.
Fisher was told the lump was a rare form of cancera disease where abnormal cells split without control and spread to other nearby body tissue and/or organs called epithelioid sarcomacancer arising from bones and/or soft tissue which grows in soft tissuetissue/the material that joins, holds up or surrounds inside body parts such as fat, muscle, ligaments and lining around joints.
“I was in shock,” Fisher said.
“I was looking at her thinking, ‘Am I in the right room?'”
Losing two fingers has put an end to Fisher’s hairdressing career, and she’s having counselling to help her deal with the loss of part of her hand. (Nine)
Tests to see how disease had spread
Fisher had more tests to see if the cancer spread anywhere else in her body.
It hadn’t, but she needed more of her hand removed by medics in Sydney to ensure they removed all of the tumoura tissue mass that forms from groups of unhealthy cells.
“The specialist said his job was to remove the cancer. He said the only reliable way to do that is to amputate your middle and ring finger, so it doesn’t spread,” Fisher said.
The surgery was carried out on December 1.
It has put an end to Fisher’s hairdressing career, and she’s having counselling to help her deal with the loss of part of her hand.
“Hairdressing is out of the picture, my beloved career that I’ve worked so hard for,” she said.
“Everyday tasks are just challenging, annoying, the appearance is awful to me,”
But she said losing her fingers was a “sacrifice” she needed to make so she can be around for Bobby.
“It’s not ideal but it’s better than the alternative,” she said.
She is now having regular checks as the cancer has a high re-occurrence rate she was told.
Fisher was told she had a rare form of cancer called epithelioid sarcoma which grows in soft tissuea group of cells that work together to perform a function and she had to have two fingers amputated. (Nine)
Push for better diagnosisthe process of identifying a disease based on signs and symptoms, patient history and medical test results of rare cancers
Fisher has been supported by charity Rare Cancers Australia.
It defines a rare cancer as an unusual type of the disease seen in few people, a cancer diagnosed in patients outside the usual age bracket, as well as a common cancer in an unexpected location.
One in three cancer diagnoses in Australia are rare or less common, and they contribute to over half of all cancer deaths, the charity says.
It is pushing for earlier diagnosis for rare cancers which affect around 52,000 Aussies a year.
Richard Vines from the charity said a late diagnosis, like the one Fisher experienced, is a huge issue for many patients.
“We talk about 90 per cent survival rate for breast cancer, melanomaa type of cancer that develops from melanocytes, which are the cells that produce pigment generally in the skin (but can develop in other areas of the body), and prostatea walnut-shaped gland in the male reproductive system that is responsible for producing semen - a bodily fluid that acts as a vessel for sperm transport during ejaculation cancer, that’s because we find them early,” Vines told 9news.com.au.
“With the less common cancers we are not finding them until it’s too late.”
June is National Rare Cancers Awareness Month.
Published on 9News on 28 June 2023 as, ‘Rosie May was told she had a cyst. It turned out to be a rare cancer‘.