Back in April we were talking about the cost of funerals.
A listener called Tom called in when we were discussing the cost of funerals.
He told us he was planning a funeral - his own - as he has a potentially terminal sarcoma.
As it is Sarcoma Awareness month Matt Heath and Tyler Adams thought it would be good to check in with Tom and also speak with Joanna Connor the Treasurer and Founding Member of the Sarcoma Foundation.
She is a UK trained medical oncologist specialising in sarcoma and breast cancers and is tumour lead for sarcoma at Te Pūriri o Te Ora, Auckland Regional Cancer and Blood Service.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
You're listening to a podcast from News Talk zed Be
follow this and our Wide Ranger podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
So back in April, we were talking about the cost
of funerals. A great New Zealander called Tom. He called
in and he's back with us today.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Tom, get a to you go man Tyler. How are
you lads?
Speaker 4 (00:29):
Fantastic one of the most popular callers to our show.
We were talking about planning funerals and you rang and
and said you were planning your own funeral, which should
have knocked us from six, but your attitude was phenomenal
and as a result we got about one thousand texts
on the back of it. So it's so good to
have you back on the show to chat. Now, Tom
tell us about your condition and when you were diagnosed
(00:52):
and how you were diagnosed.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Well, thank you so much for this opportunity. It really
does mean a lot to me. So I was diagnosed
with a very rare type of cancer called a sarcoma
back in February nineteen nineteen twoenty twenty two, so amazing
and at the time, of course, my diagnosis was a
stage four cancer. So it was started in my small
(01:18):
bowel thing and it already metestasized to my liver, so
the outcome didn't look great. So you go through a
period of time where you know what's there, but you
don't know what it is. And then I got told
of I had this rare sarcoma known as JUST, and
I'm a bit of a researcher by nature, so I
jumped on and I was looking for as much information
(01:41):
as I could find out about JUST. And some of
it as good stuff. I mean, you can live a
reasonably well and long and healthy life with JUST if
you get the right treatments and you get it early.
But what I found was that there was not a
lot of information available that was New Zealand relevant. So
(02:01):
you could get support groups online, and there were other
foundations Australia, America mainly where where there was a lot
of information, but you would often get directed to go
and look at a drug trial here or there, or
you know, Sloan Keddering in New York and because none
of that's really available. So what I'm ringing today is
(02:21):
that since my diagnosis, there's been too wonderful on cologists
in Auckland. Andrew and Joanna have established the Sarcoma Foundation,
which is a small charity that's aimed at at supplying
information two people like me that is New Zealand relevant
(02:42):
if you like, what treatments are available for us here,
what we can expect to get, what is funded, what isn't.
Sarcoma makes up only one percent were just over of
all cancers each year, so there's only several hundred people
a year. So because there's so few people with these
(03:02):
rare cancers, we do tend to fall between the cracks
when it comes to not just access to drug trials,
just connection with other people. You know, what the foundation
and for me means is that there's a place there
where we can go. Because it's a very personal journey
living with a terminal illness. It's very hard to describe,
(03:26):
to be honest, I think I watched a documentary done
by Die Henwood where he described his journey and he's
so right. We said in one part there were it
actually occupies ninety five percent of your thoughts every day,
that's all you really think about. And to be able
to connect with other people that are going through the
(03:47):
same thing as very cathartic. I guess I could say,
you know, that's another benefit I think that the Sarcoma
Foundation will offer. My journey would have been a lot
less stressful in the beginning had I been able to
tap into a resource like the Sarcona Foundation. And then
(04:09):
you know, people feel they could maybe jump onto the
Sarcoma website and they're just making a little seven dollar
donation for the seventh month. Every little bit helps. I mean,
I'm kind of in the final stages now. I've gone
through the funded medications. You know, I had funded to
(04:31):
a point some medication, but they all failed. So yeah,
you know, if anyone understood the planning's all done on
a fundal We've got it all sorted. Now. We're just
still carrying on. You know. I still come to work
pretty much every day because I think that's very important
where you can just for your own mental health and
(04:55):
your own well being to be able to just keep
doing stuff sitting back and what do you sit at
home and think about?
Speaker 4 (05:03):
Well, I was thinking about that, actually, Tom. You know,
your response to something most of us could can't get
our heads around. From the position we're in, it's been
and our interaction has been so sort of full of
warmth and humor towards your condition. So you know, you
say that you've kept working, and what other ways have
you managed to cope mentally?
Speaker 3 (05:22):
Well, I've always been very open and honest with people
about where I'm at and what I'm going through. So
what I've found that I've with all my friends and
family just by always being open and honest with them
and telling them where I'm at, and people that I've
established relationships within my work life as well. It sort
(05:45):
of lessens the burden for me because I've shared it
so much. But it's also if we gather somewhere, it's
not like the elephant in the room that no one
wants to talk about. Everybody knows about it, and for me,
as we're sort of getting closer to that end, I
know that they've got each other as well.
Speaker 5 (06:08):
Well.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
That eases my mind a little bit because it's such
a mental battle.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
Tom As I said before, you're one of the most
popular callers to our show when you rang in with
with the humor that you did, and you're an aspiring guy.
Think thanks so much for talking to us and absolutely
all the best you made people like you whose instincts
in the face of just unimaginably huge things. When your
instincts to help others, it's I find it really humbling
(06:35):
for the rest of us, and it's it's an amazingly
beautiful thing. So it's it's been great to chat to
you again, mate.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
Well, thank you, Matt. That's equally humbling for me to
have you say that. So I'll just go back to
sitting here and swearing at you guys.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Please, we love it, we deserve it.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Yeah right, yeah, look, I just I just hope that
this little chat, you know, raises a bit more awareness
for the Foundation and the wonderful work that Andrew and
Joanna are doing.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Yeah, well, Tom, thank you very much again, mate. We
love you, and hopefully we chet again soon. A.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
Yeah, well, next time I'd come in and give me
some cake or something.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
We can do that.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
What's your favorite cake made? Anything?
Speaker 4 (07:16):
Anything?
Speaker 5 (07:18):
All right?
Speaker 4 (07:18):
Matt's pretty good baker. No, Tyler will bake you a
banana cake. I'll have to get h Yeah, here we go.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
I feel sorry for you now, Tom. Anyway you're gonna
eat my cake?
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Thanks?
Speaker 2 (07:30):
All right, mate, Chad, soon see you, Tom.
Speaker 4 (07:33):
That is Tom.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
What an absolute great New Zealand theer it is news
talks here, but you're listening to Matt and Tyler Beggary shortly,
how do we donate again? Sarcoma dot org dot in
ZI seven bucks.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
Yep. They're good people.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
The big stories, the big issues, the big trends and
everything in between. Matt Heath and Tyler Adams afternoons used talks.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
It'd be doctor Joanna Connor as a UK trained medical
oncologer specializing in sarcoma and breast cancers and as tumor
lead for Sarcoma at the Auckland Regional Cancer and Blood Service.
She is a founding member of Sarcoma New Zealand and
being Sarcoma a week in us Muth she joins us now,
doctor Connor, very good afternoon.
Speaker 5 (08:12):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
Now for those of us that are unaware, what exactly
is sarcoma, Yeah.
Speaker 5 (08:19):
So sarcoma is it's a word for tumors. So they
can be cancerous or benign of the supportive tissues of
our body, so that can be that muscle bone. And
actually they can occur anywhere in the body at any age,
and they're usually very rare cancers, which is why many
people might not have heard of that term.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
Before, so it's a variety of cancers.
Speaker 5 (08:43):
Yes, this sarcoma is the umbrella term, and within that
there's actually many different types of sarcoma, right.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
And how many people are affected in New Zealand a year.
Speaker 5 (08:52):
Several hundred people per year and of course some people
some sarcoma's there might only be one per year even
but for some of the more common types of sarcoma
we might get sort of fifty to one hundred throughout.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
Altiro are the symptoms that people need to watch out for,
so this is.
Speaker 5 (09:11):
This is one of the challenges of sarcoma because they
can occur anywhere in the body. They can present actually
in many different ways. For sarcomas that might present on
the extremity, so our arms or our legs, that might
be in the formers of lump bump or even bone
pain particular at night that comes. For sarcomas that are
(09:33):
in the tummy, that can be more problematic because they
can be very vague, just general sort of fullness, discomfort,
maybe even some vomiting. So there's no one clear symptom,
but there's usually a collection of abnormal symptoms and we
usually say look, if you're getting some symptoms that aren't
quite right, go and get them checked out. That's one
(09:54):
of the most important things for those that.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Are diagnosed, Joanna. Are there hurdles that they may face
in getting treatment or what are the challenges that those
diagnosed can come across.
Speaker 5 (10:06):
Well, there's a couple of main challenges. Is the first
challenge is getting the right diagnosis. And we know that
the path to diagnosis can often be long, and that's
because they're rare. We're not always in the community, we're
not always expecting it to be a sarcoma, and so
often we hear about people being having lots of different
(10:27):
investigations over a long period of time. And then really
importantly the diagnosis pathway is that those once we've got
a biopsy that has to be reviewed by a sarcoma
specialist because we know sometimes they're so rare that we
need the right people to look at those, so that
time to diagnosis can actually be really long and a
(10:48):
really challenging journey for people. And then I think the
second challenge is what is sarcoma? What am I living
with or what's my treatment plan? And feeling quite alone
because it's so rare.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
If you have concerns and nothing is being found, but
this discomfortable one of these symptoms that you're talking about continues,
how do you just keep going with it? How do
you keep asking for more tests.
Speaker 5 (11:14):
One of the really good things is that Sarcoma Foundation
New Zealand has some advice for healthcare professionals. And what
we found is that that advice can really empower patients
to advocate for themselves if they feel like they're not
getting the right workup. And there's some really good criteria
about what needs investigations, so imaging, what that might need,
(11:37):
an ultrasound, etc. And X ray and there's a really
clear referral pathway to get onto the right track. So
we hope that the information from the Arkoma Foundation can
help empower patients to advocate for themselves, you know, to
getting that workup that they need.
Speaker 4 (11:55):
Is there a point where you, like, as a doctor,
you can go you definitely don't have this, You've got
the symptoms, but we can rule this out. You see
what I'm getting at. Because people feel like they have
something and you can go on this journey and investigation investigation.
Is there a point where you can just go, look,
you're clear. This isn't the thing that you need to
(12:16):
worry about.
Speaker 5 (12:17):
Yeah. Absolutely, And although we're talking about sarcoma today, I
think reassuring word from me would be that most of
the time these lumps on bumps are not sarcoma's. You know,
these are really rare, but unless you get them worked up,
we just need that reassurance. And usually that might be
a simple scam or an X ray, or for some
(12:38):
people they might need a biopsy. But usually one of
those two things is the key. A reassuring imaging or
a clear biopsy.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
We're talking to doctor Joanna Connor, founding member of this
of Sarcoma and New Zealand. So once you've been diagnosed,
what sort of treatments are available?
Speaker 5 (12:55):
A whole bunch of treatments depending on the type of
sarcoma that has been diagnosed. Usually surgery is the cornerstone
of treatment. Most sarcomas need surgery to remove. There are
some sarcomas, however, that need some treatment before we get
to that surgery, so that might be for some people
(13:15):
radiation treatment or even some chemotherapy, or even a combination
of both. But your treatment plan would be recommended by
a specialist Socoma team.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
So for people listening at the moment Joanna and they
might be a bit worried, or for those who are
going through the journey, what would be your message to
those people?
Speaker 5 (13:34):
I think you're not alone. So it can feel immensely isolating,
but go to the website. There's lots of resources for
people in New Zealand affected by sarcoma and the family
as as well. And look, talk to us, you know,
if you're not sure, talk to us, particularly through Socoma
(13:56):
Foundation New Zealand. We can help make sure you're orientated
on the right path. Where the charities we're not your
treating team, but we can help advocate for you.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
How are you guys funded and how can people donate?
Speaker 5 (14:09):
So we're a charity, so we're very new in the
first couple of years have been launched to the public,
so we're welcoming all donations to keep us running and
one of the goals this year is to start up
a support network for patients and consumers across our.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
Heroa and so how directly can they donate?
Speaker 5 (14:28):
So go to Socoma dot org dot Z and they
can donate through.
Speaker 4 (14:32):
Our website sarcoma dot org dot ZID perfect.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
Yeah, doctor, really great to chat with you. Keep up
the good work and we'll catch up again soon hopefully.
Speaker 5 (14:40):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
That is doctor Joanna Connor. She's a UK trained medical
oncologist and a founding member of Sarcoma New Zealand.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
For more from News Talk ZB, listen live on air
or online, and keep our shows with you wherever you
go with our podcasts on Iartradio.
You're listening to a podcast from News Talk zed Be
follow this and our Wide Ranger podcasts now on iHeartRadio.
Speaker 2 (00:16):
So back in April, we were talking about the cost
of funerals. A great New Zealander called Tom. He called
in and he's back with us today.
Speaker 3 (00:25):
Tom, get a to you go man Tyler. How are
you lads?
Speaker 4 (00:29):
Fantastic one of the most popular callers to our show.
We were talking about planning funerals and you rang and
and said you were planning your own funeral, which should
have knocked us from six, but your attitude was phenomenal
and as a result we got about one thousand texts
on the back of it. So it's so good to
have you back on the show to chat. Now, Tom
tell us about your condition and when you were diagnosed
(00:52):
and how you were diagnosed.
Speaker 3 (00:54):
Well, thank you so much for this opportunity. It really
does mean a lot to me. So I was diagnosed
with a very rare type of cancer called a sarcoma
back in February nineteen nineteen twoenty twenty two, so amazing
and at the time, of course, my diagnosis was a
stage four cancer. So it was started in my small
(01:18):
bowel thing and it already metestasized to my liver, so
the outcome didn't look great. So you go through a
period of time where you know what's there, but you
don't know what it is. And then I got told
of I had this rare sarcoma known as JUST, and
I'm a bit of a researcher by nature, so I
jumped on and I was looking for as much information
(01:41):
as I could find out about JUST. And some of
it as good stuff. I mean, you can live a
reasonably well and long and healthy life with JUST if
you get the right treatments and you get it early.
But what I found was that there was not a
lot of information available that was New Zealand relevant. So
(02:01):
you could get support groups online, and there were other
foundations Australia, America mainly where where there was a lot
of information, but you would often get directed to go
and look at a drug trial here or there, or
you know, Sloan Keddering in New York and because none
of that's really available. So what I'm ringing today is
(02:21):
that since my diagnosis, there's been too wonderful on cologists
in Auckland. Andrew and Joanna have established the Sarcoma Foundation,
which is a small charity that's aimed at at supplying
information two people like me that is New Zealand relevant
(02:42):
if you like, what treatments are available for us here,
what we can expect to get, what is funded, what isn't.
Sarcoma makes up only one percent were just over of
all cancers each year, so there's only several hundred people
a year. So because there's so few people with these
(03:02):
rare cancers, we do tend to fall between the cracks
when it comes to not just access to drug trials,
just connection with other people. You know, what the foundation
and for me means is that there's a place there
where we can go. Because it's a very personal journey
living with a terminal illness. It's very hard to describe,
(03:26):
to be honest, I think I watched a documentary done
by Die Henwood where he described his journey and he's
so right. We said in one part there were it
actually occupies ninety five percent of your thoughts every day,
that's all you really think about. And to be able
to connect with other people that are going through the
(03:47):
same thing as very cathartic. I guess I could say,
you know, that's another benefit I think that the Sarcoma
Foundation will offer. My journey would have been a lot
less stressful in the beginning had I been able to
tap into a resource like the Sarcona Foundation. And then
(04:09):
you know, people feel they could maybe jump onto the
Sarcoma website and they're just making a little seven dollar
donation for the seventh month. Every little bit helps. I mean,
I'm kind of in the final stages now. I've gone
through the funded medications. You know, I had funded to
(04:31):
a point some medication, but they all failed. So yeah,
you know, if anyone understood the planning's all done on
a fundal We've got it all sorted. Now. We're just
still carrying on. You know. I still come to work
pretty much every day because I think that's very important
where you can just for your own mental health and
(04:55):
your own well being to be able to just keep
doing stuff sitting back and what do you sit at
home and think about?
Speaker 4 (05:03):
Well, I was thinking about that, actually, Tom. You know,
your response to something most of us could can't get
our heads around. From the position we're in, it's been
and our interaction has been so sort of full of
warmth and humor towards your condition. So you know, you
say that you've kept working, and what other ways have
you managed to cope mentally?
Speaker 3 (05:22):
Well, I've always been very open and honest with people
about where I'm at and what I'm going through. So
what I've found that I've with all my friends and
family just by always being open and honest with them
and telling them where I'm at, and people that I've
established relationships within my work life as well. It sort
(05:45):
of lessens the burden for me because I've shared it
so much. But it's also if we gather somewhere, it's
not like the elephant in the room that no one
wants to talk about. Everybody knows about it, and for me,
as we're sort of getting closer to that end, I
know that they've got each other as well.
Speaker 5 (06:08):
Well.
Speaker 3 (06:09):
That eases my mind a little bit because it's such
a mental battle.
Speaker 4 (06:13):
Tom As I said before, you're one of the most
popular callers to our show when you rang in with
with the humor that you did, and you're an aspiring guy.
Think thanks so much for talking to us and absolutely
all the best you made people like you whose instincts
in the face of just unimaginably huge things. When your
instincts to help others, it's I find it really humbling
(06:35):
for the rest of us, and it's it's an amazingly
beautiful thing. So it's it's been great to chat to
you again, mate.
Speaker 3 (06:42):
Well, thank you, Matt. That's equally humbling for me to
have you say that. So I'll just go back to
sitting here and swearing at you guys.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
Please, we love it, we deserve it.
Speaker 3 (06:53):
Yeah right, yeah, look, I just I just hope that
this little chat, you know, raises a bit more awareness
for the Foundation and the wonderful work that Andrew and
Joanna are doing.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
Yeah, well, Tom, thank you very much again, mate. We
love you, and hopefully we chet again soon. A.
Speaker 3 (07:09):
Yeah, well, next time I'd come in and give me
some cake or something.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
We can do that.
Speaker 3 (07:13):
What's your favorite cake made? Anything?
Speaker 4 (07:16):
Anything?
Speaker 5 (07:18):
All right?
Speaker 4 (07:18):
Matt's pretty good baker. No, Tyler will bake you a
banana cake. I'll have to get h Yeah, here we go.
Speaker 2 (07:25):
I feel sorry for you now, Tom. Anyway you're gonna
eat my cake?
Speaker 3 (07:30):
Thanks?
Speaker 2 (07:30):
All right, mate, Chad, soon see you, Tom.
Speaker 4 (07:33):
That is Tom.
Speaker 2 (07:34):
What an absolute great New Zealand theer it is news
talks here, but you're listening to Matt and Tyler Beggary shortly,
how do we donate again? Sarcoma dot org dot in
ZI seven bucks.
Speaker 4 (07:43):
Yep. They're good people.
Speaker 1 (07:45):
The big stories, the big issues, the big trends and
everything in between. Matt Heath and Tyler Adams afternoons used talks.
Speaker 2 (07:53):
It'd be doctor Joanna Connor as a UK trained medical
oncologer specializing in sarcoma and breast cancers and as tumor
lead for Sarcoma at the Auckland Regional Cancer and Blood Service.
She is a founding member of Sarcoma New Zealand and
being Sarcoma a week in us Muth she joins us now,
doctor Connor, very good afternoon.
Speaker 5 (08:12):
Thank you.
Speaker 4 (08:13):
Now for those of us that are unaware, what exactly
is sarcoma, Yeah.
Speaker 5 (08:19):
So sarcoma is it's a word for tumors. So they
can be cancerous or benign of the supportive tissues of
our body, so that can be that muscle bone. And
actually they can occur anywhere in the body at any age,
and they're usually very rare cancers, which is why many
people might not have heard of that term.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
Before, so it's a variety of cancers.
Speaker 5 (08:43):
Yes, this sarcoma is the umbrella term, and within that
there's actually many different types of sarcoma, right.
Speaker 4 (08:48):
And how many people are affected in New Zealand a year.
Speaker 5 (08:52):
Several hundred people per year and of course some people
some sarcoma's there might only be one per year even
but for some of the more common types of sarcoma
we might get sort of fifty to one hundred throughout.
Speaker 4 (09:07):
Altiro are the symptoms that people need to watch out for,
so this is.
Speaker 5 (09:11):
This is one of the challenges of sarcoma because they
can occur anywhere in the body. They can present actually
in many different ways. For sarcomas that might present on
the extremity, so our arms or our legs, that might
be in the formers of lump bump or even bone
pain particular at night that comes. For sarcomas that are
(09:33):
in the tummy, that can be more problematic because they
can be very vague, just general sort of fullness, discomfort,
maybe even some vomiting. So there's no one clear symptom,
but there's usually a collection of abnormal symptoms and we
usually say look, if you're getting some symptoms that aren't
quite right, go and get them checked out. That's one
(09:54):
of the most important things for those that.
Speaker 2 (09:57):
Are diagnosed, Joanna. Are there hurdles that they may face
in getting treatment or what are the challenges that those
diagnosed can come across.
Speaker 5 (10:06):
Well, there's a couple of main challenges. Is the first
challenge is getting the right diagnosis. And we know that
the path to diagnosis can often be long, and that's
because they're rare. We're not always in the community, we're
not always expecting it to be a sarcoma, and so
often we hear about people being having lots of different
(10:27):
investigations over a long period of time. And then really
importantly the diagnosis pathway is that those once we've got
a biopsy that has to be reviewed by a sarcoma
specialist because we know sometimes they're so rare that we
need the right people to look at those, so that
time to diagnosis can actually be really long and a
(10:48):
really challenging journey for people. And then I think the
second challenge is what is sarcoma? What am I living
with or what's my treatment plan? And feeling quite alone
because it's so rare.
Speaker 4 (11:00):
If you have concerns and nothing is being found, but
this discomfortable one of these symptoms that you're talking about continues,
how do you just keep going with it? How do
you keep asking for more tests.
Speaker 5 (11:14):
One of the really good things is that Sarcoma Foundation
New Zealand has some advice for healthcare professionals. And what
we found is that that advice can really empower patients
to advocate for themselves if they feel like they're not
getting the right workup. And there's some really good criteria
about what needs investigations, so imaging, what that might need,
(11:37):
an ultrasound, etc. And X ray and there's a really
clear referral pathway to get onto the right track. So
we hope that the information from the Arkoma Foundation can
help empower patients to advocate for themselves, you know, to
getting that workup that they need.
Speaker 4 (11:55):
Is there a point where you, like, as a doctor,
you can go you definitely don't have this, You've got
the symptoms, but we can rule this out. You see
what I'm getting at. Because people feel like they have
something and you can go on this journey and investigation investigation.
Is there a point where you can just go, look,
you're clear. This isn't the thing that you need to
(12:16):
worry about.
Speaker 5 (12:17):
Yeah. Absolutely, And although we're talking about sarcoma today, I
think reassuring word from me would be that most of
the time these lumps on bumps are not sarcoma's. You know,
these are really rare, but unless you get them worked up,
we just need that reassurance. And usually that might be
a simple scam or an X ray, or for some
(12:38):
people they might need a biopsy. But usually one of
those two things is the key. A reassuring imaging or
a clear biopsy.
Speaker 4 (12:46):
We're talking to doctor Joanna Connor, founding member of this
of Sarcoma and New Zealand. So once you've been diagnosed,
what sort of treatments are available?
Speaker 5 (12:55):
A whole bunch of treatments depending on the type of
sarcoma that has been diagnosed. Usually surgery is the cornerstone
of treatment. Most sarcomas need surgery to remove. There are
some sarcomas, however, that need some treatment before we get
to that surgery, so that might be for some people
(13:15):
radiation treatment or even some chemotherapy, or even a combination
of both. But your treatment plan would be recommended by
a specialist Socoma team.
Speaker 2 (13:26):
So for people listening at the moment Joanna and they
might be a bit worried, or for those who are
going through the journey, what would be your message to
those people?
Speaker 5 (13:34):
I think you're not alone. So it can feel immensely isolating,
but go to the website. There's lots of resources for
people in New Zealand affected by sarcoma and the family
as as well. And look, talk to us, you know,
if you're not sure, talk to us, particularly through Socoma
(13:56):
Foundation New Zealand. We can help make sure you're orientated
on the right path. Where the charities we're not your
treating team, but we can help advocate for you.
Speaker 4 (14:06):
How are you guys funded and how can people donate?
Speaker 5 (14:09):
So we're a charity, so we're very new in the
first couple of years have been launched to the public,
so we're welcoming all donations to keep us running and
one of the goals this year is to start up
a support network for patients and consumers across our.
Speaker 4 (14:26):
Heroa and so how directly can they donate?
Speaker 5 (14:28):
So go to Socoma dot org dot Z and they
can donate through.
Speaker 4 (14:32):
Our website sarcoma dot org dot ZID perfect.
Speaker 2 (14:35):
Yeah, doctor, really great to chat with you. Keep up
the good work and we'll catch up again soon hopefully.
Speaker 5 (14:40):
Thanks so much.
Speaker 2 (14:41):
That is doctor Joanna Connor. She's a UK trained medical
oncologist and a founding member of Sarcoma New Zealand.
Speaker 1 (14:48):
For more from News Talk ZB, listen live on air
or online, and keep our shows with you wherever you
go with our podcasts on Iartradio.
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