West Bromwich man had 10kg tumour removed after receiving cancer diagnosis in A&E

A man from West Bromwich is raising awareness of the symptoms of a rare type of cancer after he was diagnosed with the illness in A&E.

Tarlochan ‘Tarli’ Garcha discovered he had sarcoma, cancer of the bone and soft tissue, when he went to the emergency department for an entirely different reason.

In February 2022, the 43-year-old had a 10kg liposarcoma removed from behind his kidney. Now, Tarli is raising awareness of this cancer with national charity Sarcoma UK.

Tarli was originally admitted to A&E for breathing difficulties as a result of covid complications, as his GP thought he might have a problem with his lungs. It was during this stay in hospital that doctors found an unrelated mass, which would eventually be diagnosed as sarcoma, after a misdiagnosis of a benign tumour.

Tarli underwent a six hour operation to remove the tumour, which weighed over 10kg. “The doctor described the tumour as expanding like a basketball, as it had been stuck behind my kidney,” said Tarli.

Tarli is urging everyone to familiarise themselves with the signs and symptoms of sarcoma and to contact their GP if they have any of those listed below:

• A lump which is growing, changing, or bigger than a golf ball
• Swelling, tenderness, or pain in or around the bone which may come and go and may be worse at night
• Stomach pain, feeling sick, loss of appetite or feeling full after eating only a small amount of food
• Blood in either poo or vomit.

“Despite 15 people in the UK being diagnosed with sarcoma every day, only 25% of the population know what sarcoma is, with even fewer people recognising its signs and symptoms,”says Megan Fletcher, Early Diagnosis Officer at Sarcoma UK.

‘Getting diagnosed as early as possible is key, so if you have any signs and symptoms, contact your GP,” Megan added. “The greater awareness we have of sarcoma, and the importance of early diagnosis, the more chance we have of being able to help people like Tarli when it will really make a difference.”

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