Student who survived cancer crowned Miss NI hours after check-up: 'I decided I wanted to live my life'
Carly Wilson (23) said she was inspired to enter the competition after recovering from a rare form of cancer — Paws-Gist.
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Belfast Telegraph
08-08-2025
- Belfast Telegraph
Miss NI vows to use platform to raise awareness of rare cancer: ‘It teaches you to never take a day for granted'
Miss Northern Ireland Carly Wilson has been named Sarcoma UK Ambassador after her own inspiring journey battling a rare form of cancer. The 23-year-old from Rathfriland was diagnosed with PAWS-GIST – an uncommon subtype of gastrointestinal stromal tumour that primarily affects young people – after months of being misdiagnosed.
BBC News
04-07-2025
- BBC News
The festival for dogs that is coming to Glasgow
The entertainment is booked, the food is on site and the health and safety checks have taken there is a difference to Glasgow's newest festival - it's all for first ever Bark Love will be held at SWG3 on Sunday, with everything from DJs playing "dog-friendly sets" to workshops on grooming and pampering owners of the day's star attractions will be catered for too, but the focus of the event is primarily on paws. The event is the brainchild of Jenn-Nimmo Smith, a dog enthusiast who owns both an excitable golden retriever called Scout and a music PR company."About 18 months ago I thought about doing something where I could combine my lifelong love of dogs and my experience working at events," she says. "I wanted to do something different, for the urban dog. There's so many events in the countryside but I wanted to do something in the city, with indoor and outdoor options." 'My dog was honestly a life saver' The plan progressed quickly, though within months Jenn was being given paws for thought by various logistical them was getting artificial grass sorted to turn the venue's courtyard into a play area, and another was checking there was a good number of water stations brought in, to make sure no dog would be thirsty on the day."There's definitely more things to take into account when you're thinking of dogs," she says. "What's in their sight level? What can they see on the ground? How is the flow of movement outdoors going to be? We've worked to position things the best way for humans and dogs so it's the safest, most comfortable experience."Jenn's passion for dogs goes back to her childhood, with a family springer spaniel Bracken and a golden retriever owned by her gran. However, as an adult she feels Scout - who was a ring bearer at her wedding - has been important in her life in a number of different ways."With dogs there's that constant love, but also they're there with difficult times. "I lost my dad seven years ago and we got Scout that year. She was honestly a life saver. "When you're grieving, waking up to see that happy furry face, and someone that loves you unconditionally, is so important. It also means you need to leave the house, you need to take them for a walk – it gives you a routine in a really hard time." Scout's family ties have continued since then. Jenn's mum is now in a care home, and when Jenn visits she makes sure to bring her pal with her."My mum's a massive dog lover and now there's other residents in the care home who we must go and visit when we're in too, because they love seeing her. "I think being in a care home, when Scout recognises and you see their faces brighten, it's really lovely."Jenn says she hopes Sunday will have an equally sweet vibe to the will mix practical aspects, like a marketplace with around 30 stalls and all sorts of food and drink, with more surprising offers - like the chance to have a tarot card reading for you and your includes a dog show, a collaboration with the Yard Works graffiti art studio called Bark Works featuring live murals being painted, and a steady flow of dog friendly tunes played by latter does not mean Dog Days Are Over, Who Let the Dogs Out and I Wanna Be Your Dog on a loop, though."My background is music, so there was always going to be an element of that, laughs Jenn."For DJ sets think ambient, Balearic beat tunes – nothing too intense, just something to ease you through the day. So not a full on rave..." And just like any music festival, Jenn is keen to ensure those attending have plenty to make some noise about."Someone was saying to me they've just had to put their dog to sleep at 17 – Scout's eight and I just want her to live forever. "Bracken died in my 20s and I didn't get Scout until my early 30s. You know the day will come but it's also unthinkable. "Scout's a part of the family. Their life spans are short but that's why I want to bring her as many places as I can and keep her happy and healthy."
BreakingNews.ie
22-06-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
What you need to know about sarcoma – the cancer you've never heard of
When most people think of cancer, names like breast, lung, or prostate cancer instantly come to mind. However, there's another, lesser-known form called sarcoma that affects thousands of people in the UK every year, yet rarely makes headlines. Despite its relative obscurity, it's one of the most aggressive and challenging cancers to diagnose and treat. Advertisement Ahead of Sarcoma Awareness Month (July), we got in touch with Helen Stradling, head of support and healthcare professional engagement services at Sarcoma UK, to find out exactly what sarcoma is, why awareness is so low, and what some of the early symptoms are… What is sarcoma? Sarcoma refers to a broad group of cancers that start in the bones and soft tissues. Photo: Alamy/PA. Sarcoma is a type of cancer that can appear anywhere in the body and everyday 15 people in the UK are diagnosed with it, according to Sarcoma UK's website. 'In terms of breast cancer, lung cancer and bowel cancer, it's very obvious where they come from, whereas the word sarcomas doesn't really tell you anything,' acknowledges Stradling. 'Sarcomas are cancers of the bits and pieces that put us together, like nerves, bones, blood vessels and fat cells.' There are many different subtypes of sarcomas, but they are generally grouped into two main categories. Advertisement 'The main types are sarcomas of bone and sarcomas of soft tissue,' explains Stradling. 'The most common soft tissue sarcomas are the GISTs (gastrointestinal stromal tumours), liposarcomas and leiomyosarcomas, and in the bone sarcomas, the ones we tend to hear the most about are the osteosarcoma and Ewing sarcomas.' Why have many people never heard of sarcomas? 'I think it all comes down to the rarity of it,' says Stradling. 'We diagnose about 5,300 sarcomas in the UK every year, so it's very unlikely when somebody gets a sarcoma diagnosis that they've known somebody else that's had one. 'It's also not the type of cancer that you see spoken about very often in the media. A lot of people that get a sarcoma diagnosis have never heard of sarcomas before.' What are the symptoms? View this post on Instagram A post shared by Sarcoma UK (@sarcoma_uk) 'The main sign of a soft tissue sarcoma is a lump that you can see that is changing or growing,' highlights Stradling. 'Benign lumps are really common, but anyone who has a soft tissue lump anywhere on the body that is growing and changing needs to get that checked out.' Whereas, the main symptom of bone sarcomas is bone pain or swelling that tends to be worse at night. Advertisement 'There's a lot of reasons for joint and bone pain, but if you've got bone pain that you can't put down to any kind of injury, that is not relieving itself with painkillers or anything like that, and the pain wakes you at night, that's a red flag sign,' emphasises Stradling. However, GISTs sarcomas tend to be harder to identify. 'GISTs are a little bit more tricky, because you can hardly ever see anything from them,' says Stradling. 'It's more likely to show up with more subtle signs like bloating or blood in your vomit or stools. 'If you have got any these symptoms and you are being pushed back from healthcare professionals that you're seeing, we would urge you to keep going. If you are really concerned that it could be a sarcoma, mention the word to the professional so that it is something they can consider or start investigating.' Advertisement How is it diagnosed? Diagnosis of sarcomas usually start with an ultrasound or an X-ray. Photo: Alamy/PA. 'It usually starts with somebody either seeing their GP, a physio or a nurse and a lot of time it will be a soft tissue lump that's growing or bone pain,' says Stradling. 'With soft tissue sarcomas we tend to start with an ultrasound and with bone sarcomas we start with X-ray. 'If there's any concern that it might be something more sinister, the patient then has an MRI scan. But most importantly, once that MRI scan is done, we must get a biopsy, because with there being so many different subtypes, we need to know exactly which one we're dealing with to know which is the best treatment for you to have.' Like most forms of cancer, sarcomas can be found at different grades and are much easier to treat if you catch them early before they spread. 'The sooner we can get these diagnosed the better,' says Stradling. 'We know that getting patients into seeing the specialist teams and getting them started on treatment as soon as we can makes a huge positive difference for outcomes.' The primary focus of Sarcoma Awareness Month is to encourage earlier diagnosis and to improve treatment options for those affected by this disease. Photo: Alamy/PA. How is it treated? The primary treatment for sarcomas, both soft tissue and bone sarcomas, is surgery. The goal is to remove the tumour, along with a margin of healthy tissue to minimise the risk of recurrence, according to Sarcoma UK's website. Advertisement 'We really need to get the them at a size where we can do a surgery that isn't going to leave somebody with life-limiting mobility or not being able to do everything that they want to do,' says Stradling. 'We want to avoid the stage where the tumours have already spread, because then the treatments that we've got are limited.' Sarcomas can also be treated with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, often alongside surgery. 'We do use chemotherapy and radiotherapy for a number of sarcomas, but in a lot of the cases, we don't use them until they've already spread because we know that they're not as effective as we would like them to be,' explains Stradling. 'However, this is slightly different with the younger people that get the bone sarcomas, as they do tend to start with chemotherapy as a kickoff treatment. But in most cases, surgery is the first thing that needs to happen.'
