Olympian’s cancer scare

Sarcoma survivor calls on community’s help l TRINITY BEACH

| Isabella Guzman Gonzalez

FORMER Olympian and Ewing sarcoma survivor, Amy Lantieri, is calling on Cairns’ residents to raise awareness and donate towards Sarcoma research this July’s Sarcoma Awareness Month. Sarcomas currently account for 20 per cent of childhood cancers in Australia but is one of the cancers that receives the least funding in the nation.

After battling Ewing sarcoma at age 14, Ms Lantieri said she wanted more people to know that sarcoma was a silent childhood cancer, and it should receive more attention.

“I’m a former student athlete and swimmer and that’s the reason why I found out about my diagnosis quite early,” the Trinity Beach resident said.

“I was competing at a Queensland state swimming championships in Brisbane in 2006, and I woke up one night with really bad pelvic pain, and it escalated quite badly. I went to the physio and they poked and prodded, but it was not getting any better.

“Within a week, my parents got me a CT scan and it was pretty alarming. There was a tumour the size of an egg, so I was sent to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane and in a few weeks I was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma.”

Ewing sarcoma is a cancer that attacks the bones or the soft tissue around the bones, it tends to not present lots of symptoms until it’s advanced.

“A lot of people have no symptoms but one of them is growing-like pains,” the 31-year-old said.

“I had 14 rounds of chemotherapy and a major operation to remove the bone when I was 15,” she said.

“It was an awful thing to go through as a teenage girl.”

In her remission, Ms Lantieri returned to sports, going on to compete in the Commonwealth Games and Olympic teams, and became a mum three years ago.

Reflecting on her journey she wants Cairns residents to support and donate towards sarcoma research.

“Early detection is key to survival, so if your child is in pain for an extended period of time, get a scan and get it thoroughly checked out,” she said.

“It’d be good to get more research and funding for this cancer because it’s one of the most horrific childhood cancers. It’s so aggressive and a lot of children require radical surgery, so it needs to be known about.”

This Sarcoma Awareness Month, people can show support by hosting a yellow morning tea, and donating to vital sarcoma research.

For more information or to donate, visit www.sarcoma.org.au