Soft tissue sarcomas often don’t cause any symptoms at first. As they get bigger, you may notice a painless lump. It may become painful if it presses on sensitive areas, such as nerves or muscles.
Knowing whether something is a harmless lump or a soft tissue sarcoma is often difficult without proper testing. Some sarcomas are mistaken for a benign fatty lump (lipoma) or bruise (haematoma).
Talk to your doctor if you notice a lump that doesn’t go away or gets bigger over time.
Some less common sarcomas may cause skin changes, or tummy symptoms such as feeling sick, not being hungry, or blood in your poo.
→ READ MORE: Soft tissue sarcoma diagnosis
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A/Prof Richard Boyle, Orthopaedic Surgeon, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and Sydney Children’s Hospital Network, NSW; Catherine Chapman, Adolescent and Sarcoma Cancer Specialist Nurse, Canberra Health Services, ACT; Belinda Fowlie, Bone Tumour Nurse Practitioner Candidate, SA Bone and Soft Tissue Tumour Unit, Flinders Medical Centre, SA; Leanne Goegan, Consumer; Jonathan Granek, Consumer; Prof David Gyorki, Surgeon and Director, Sarcoma Service at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; Prof Angela Hong, Radiation Oncologist, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Melanoma Institute Australia, GenesisCare and Clinical Professor, The University of Sydney, NSW; A/Prof Yeh Chen Lee, Medical Oncologist, Prince of Wales Hospital and UNSW, NSW; Caitriona Nienaber, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council WA.
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