Sock it to Sarcoma is a not-for-profit organisation aiming to assist in the research of sarcoma, as well as providing support for those diagnosed and their families, and spreading awareness about rare primary bone and soft tissue tumours.
In 2009, when Abbie Basson was just 17 years old, she was diagnosed with Ewing's Sarcoma. She tragically passed away at 20, but her vision for a support network for sarcoma lives on. Sock it to Sarcoma is a not-for-profit organisation aiming to provide community awareness and information around sarcoma, as well as offering support and care to those diagnosed, and assisting with important medical research.
Sarcoma is a group of rare primary bone and soft tissue tumours. Abbie was diagnosed with sarcoma after seeing a doctor when she experienced pain in her lower back. An MRI, PET scan and bone biopsy discovered a tumour in her left pelvis, which by the time it was found, had spread to the right side of her pelvis, her spine, ribs, lymph nodes and lungs. Abbie went through eight months of chemotherapy went into remission in January 2010. Unfortunately, she relapsed in August 2010, just before she was due to spend a week in Paris through Make A Wish Foundation.
Abbie lost her battle a few weeks after her 20th birthday, but dedicated the last days of her life to developing plans for Sock it to Sarcoma. She was committed to being able to help those experiencing what she was going through herself.
"It can't help me, but it can help someone else. What happened to me was for a reason; maybe this was the reason?" Abbie said.
Sock it to Sarcoma, in conjunction with UWA, provides the Abbie Basson Sarcoma Research Scholarship to encourage and support a promising candidate, who has won an Australian Postgraduate Award or equivalent, with research into the cellular and molecular biology of sarcoma. The scholarship assists the recipient in helping to develop more effective treatments.
The organisation also provides multiple small research grants to assist those involved and facilitate different areas of sarcoma related research. They have just awarded their first grant, the Emma Pauley Research Grant, to a study aiming to evaluate the effectiveness of a multi-disciplinary approach to improving long-term outcomes in sarcoma patients.
Sock it to Sarcoma is currently developing a community awareness programme, which will help to achieve their aim of providing information in schools, universities and community and sporting groups. In addition, it aims to provide information brochures to medical professionals and the community to increase awareness and education.
Finally, Sock it to Sarcoma provides gold standard holistic care throughout every stage of the sarcoma journey, from diagnosis to surviving or bereavement. This is achieved through quality research, medical, surgical and clinical support services.
If you would like to help out Sock it to Sarcoma's cause, you can donate here: https://www.sockittosarcoma.org.au/donate/
Also don't forget to check out their website to find out more. https://www.sockittosarcoma.org.au/