I wish I had Breast Cancer instead, said no sane person ever

Well, that was your first mistake.  You thought I was sane.

Why would I say something awful like that?  Let me explain before everyone gets their panties in a bunch and stuck.

Breast cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States, with approximately 249,000 women diagnosed last year. Sarcomas?  Approximatly12,300.   That actually is all soft tissue cancers.  That is a big difference.  That over 230,000 cases means more research is done and new treatments come out regularly.  There is more fund raising, more financial help (if you dig and look), more options available for treatment.  A better chance for survival.  This morning on Good Morning America they did a bit and the numbers of survival are higher than ever.

Actually this is rather exciting, there is a new treatment for metastatic breast cancer, just approved!https://www.upi.com/Health_News/2017/09/29/FDA-approves-new-treatment-for-metastatic-breast-cancers/7571506697863/

They are coming out with new treatments, trials, and ways of detecting it, which is amazing.  There is funding to help stop it.  To help those with it.

Sarcomas?  Not so much.  Look it is a game of numbers.  Sarcomas are rare, and of the 12,300 there are 50 typed.  Some they can't identify, so they are lumped together as "unidentifiable".  Not much research done, although there are some out there that are swimming against the tide.

"If caught early, sarcomas can be treated effectively with surgery. However, if the disease spreads, or metastasizes, treatment with chemotherapy does relatively little to slow disease progression or improve survival. The median survival time after diagnosis of advanced disease is 12 to 16 months. In 2015, 12,000 people were diagnosed with soft-tissue sarcomas and 5,000 died of the disease, according to the American Cancer Society." Columbia University Medical Center

41% die.  I am going to die.

Last year, Latruvo was fast-tracked through the FDA.  It is the newest treatment.  It was a huge break through in decades.  You want to know what they got excited about?  Not that it can end the cancer, but perhaps extend the life by a year.    Here is the article on it with more information:  https://www.news-medical.net/news/20160721/Adding-new-monoclonal-antibody-to-chemotherapy-improves-survival-in-soft-tissue-sarcoma-patients.aspx

I can't find any references to any break troughs from prior to that.  In reality, if it is live or die, a year is good, as long as the year is good quality.

What is the point?  I have cancer, it is called Sarcoma, so do many others.  The point?  I wish more people would acknowledge the rarer cancers.  More research would be done.  More help available for those with Sarcomas. 

It won't happen in my lifetime, but soon I hope.