RPA Bone and Soft Tissue Sarcoma Clinic officially opens to support young people with the rare cancer.

The new RPA Bone & Soft Tissue Sarcoma Clinic has officially opened.  

Clinical specialists and care staff from RPA, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, the Cooper Rice-Brading Foundation and NSW/ACT Youth Cancer Service joined District and RPA Executive to launch the clinic. 

The clinic is a new home for the statewide service, supporting young people with the rare form of cancer.  

Sarcomas are rare cancers that start in the bone or soft tissue, and are often misdiagnosed as benign lumps, or as a sporting injury or growing pains in young people. 

Each year, 700 people are diagnosed with sarcoma in NSW and sarcoma makes up approximately 20% of the paediatric cancer population. 

The clinic will become a central point for the statewide service to provide continuity of care, with patients able to access consultations in the clinic, transition to other hospitals for surgery or other treatment and then return to the clinic to continue follow up appointments. 

“We are really following on the backs of giants, people who can’t be here today like Paul Stalley, Martin Tattersall, Stan McCarthy, Fiona Bonner – all of the different areas of the unit that come together to actually create what we have today.” Dr Richard Boyle, Program Director, RPA Bone & Soft Tissue Sarcoma Service, said. 

“Now, it’s up to us to make sure that it actually works and it’s an exciting new beginning. We will continue hopefully to make the service better for our patients with sarcoma and other tumours.”  

The clinic is an outcome of the inaugural RPA Sarcoma Summit in late 2023, which was an exciting opportunity for District exexutive members and clinical staff to hear from patients and families about how best to improve service delivery. 

The clinic is designed to meet the needs of patients and their families during difficult times, with the interior set up to allow for family meetings in comfortable spaces, including large clinic rooms and an inviting waiting room with amenities – all shaped by the District Capital Infrastructure and Engineering Team. 

The clinic will host RPA clinicians, including surgeons, nurses, medical oncologists, radiation oncologists and palliative care.  

Additional integrations to the RPA current model of care also include welcoming two new Clinical Nurse Consultants to boost care coordination. They will be key contacts for every patient. There will also be the establishment of an after-hours call centre for sarcoma patients at RPA Virtual Hospital, ensuring 24 hour a day assistance. To learn more about the service, visit: https://slhd.health.nsw.gov.au/rpa/services/sarcoma