Cancer Survivor & Amputee Kills at London Fashion Week
- Bernadette Hagans from Belfast, Ireland, lost her leg to synovial sarcoma, a rare cancer, and she walked in a London Fashion Week show this week.
- Before her cancer was diagnosed, she experienced fatigue. She also found a lump on her leg. Synovial sarcoma accounts for 5% to 10% of soft-tissue tumors. For every one million people, one to two are diagnosed with synovial sarcoma per year in the US, reports Cancer.gov.
- Surgery is a common treatment path during cancer; some people may have legs, breasts, uteruses, or other body parts removed due to cancer.
Speaking with The Belfast Telegraph, Hagans says this was a “huge milestone.” She continues, “It means so much to me to know that amputees watching this fashion show will feel represented.”
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Hagans is an accomplished model, as well as a beauty pageant winner; she came third in the Miss Northern Ireland pageant. She also received the “Beauty with a Purpose” award. Hagans, through her work, shows how broad and encompassing the definition of beauty is, and we love it.
Hagans’ Sarcoma Battle
Hagans lost her leg two and a half years ago when her synovial sarcoma (one of the rarest types of cancers) attacked it, leading to the life-saving amputation. The model felt tired for a year before finding out why, and discovered a lump in her right leg which was increasing in size. The tumor was found within her nerves and blood vessels.
Hagans learned to walk on her prosthetic leg after just a week in the hospital after her amputation. Her type of soft-tissue sarcoma most commonly targets the outer parts of the limbs, but can also affect the neck and trunk.
It can also form in soft tissues in the lung or abdomen, says Cancer.gov. Synovial sarcoma may also be called malignant synovioma. One third of patients with this disease are diagnosed under the age of 30.
Synovial sarcoma accounts for 5% to 10% of soft-tissue tumors. For every one million people, one to two are diagnosed with synovial sarcoma per year in the US, according to Cancer.gov.
Survivor Kara Ladd Met a New Version of Herself After Her Synovial Sarcoma Diagnosis
Surgery for Cancer
Surgery, like the kind Hagans had, is a common treatment for cancer. It’s not at all unusual to have a body part removed to stave or prevent the spread of cancer or cut it off at its source.
Related: When Should You Consider a Mastectomy?
One of the most common surgical treatment options for cancer is a mastectomy, which is the removal of one or both breasts as a way to treat breast cancer. A lumpectomy is a surgery to remove just a part of the breast. Some women like those who are genetically predisposed to breast cancer may opt to have a preventative mastectomy.
A hysterectomy, the full removal of the uterus, is a treatment for uterine cancer, and can also be done as a preventative measure against cancer.
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SurvivorNet Reporter Marisa Sullivan contributed to this article.
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