By Hannah Cottrell PA Real Life,Lee Grimsditch

Copyright manchestereveningnews

A nurse who had her leg amputated after an extremely rare cancerous tumour was discovered in her calf said going into “survival mode” helped her “process” her diagnosis and “stay positive”. Sophie Fay, 26, has worked as an intensive care nurse for four years. It was in March last year she noticed an “aching” pain behind the knee of her right leg. Sophie said she started exercising with a personal trainer in March 2024, but over the following weeks she noticed feeling an “aching” pain behind the knee of her right leg. “It would just happen when I exercised but I remember going for a walk and I thought the back of my knee was really sore,” Sophie said. She noticed the pain got “progressively worse” over the next few months, to the point her leg would hurt even with light activity. At the end of August 2024, Sophie was getting ready for a late shift at work when she noticed her leg was “swollen” and “warm to touch”. “I had a visible limp at this time now as well, because it was hurting whenever I walked,” she said. “My colleagues noticed it was swollen, and they suggested it could be a small blood clot in my leg.” Never miss a story with the MEN’s daily Catch Up newsletter – get it in your inbox by signing up here Following an inconclusive scan with a mini ultrasound machine, she was advised to go to her hospital’s A&E department. “I didn’t really know any better at the time, I thought it could probably be muscular – what it ended up being was so far from my mind, it was unreal,” Sophie said. After having a more thorough examination, Sophie was told she could have a Baker’s cyst, a fluid-filled lump at the back of the knee that can sometimes get better on its own, according to the NHS . Sophie said she was “happy” with the diagnosis as the symptoms she felt appeared to be similar. By November 2024, however, Sophie said the pain became “constant” and she could no longer bend her leg. “My calf was massive, I think it measured six centimetres bigger than my other one,” she said. Sophie sought further help from her GP, who recommended she see a physiotherapist, but while waiting for the appointment she felt something “was not right”. She instead went to a walk-in health centre, where it was advised she have a full ultrasound scan on her leg. Following the scan, Sophie said she was sent to the urgent care centre at her hospital for further examinations, and a few days later she underwent an MRI scan on November 11 2024. The next morning, Sophie was asked to return to receive her results, saying she thought: “Oh no, this is soon,” Sophie, who lives in Merseyside with her dad, Paul Fay, 67, said she was told her scan had revealed a large tumour in her calf, which was thought to be primary bone cancer. “I just lost my head, there were all sorts of mad things going through my mind,” Sophie said. “I had a bit of knowledge around cancer and cancer care with my work, and I couldn’t help but think it was a death sentence. “I was really emotional and the worst part was knowing I had to go home and tell my dad.” Sophie was signed off work and referred to The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital in Shropshire. Following a biopsy, Sophie was diagnosed on November 29, 2024 with spindle cell sarcoma of the bone – an extremely rare soft-tissue tumour, according to the Bone Cancer Research Trust. Such tumours most commonly arise in patients over the age of 40 and are extremely rare, making up just 2-5% of all primary bone cancer cases, the charity says. Sophie was told her only viable treatment option would be amputation, as her blood vessels and nerves were “completely encased” by the tumour. “There wasn’t a way they could remove it safely to leave me with a functioning leg,” Sophie said. Sophie received an above-the-knee amputation on December 17 2024, and she said the operation and her healing process was “very smooth”. “It was a massive shock but it felt like the best chance of living a normal-ish life afterwards,” Sophie said. “Going into survival mode helped me to process the diagnosis and stay so positive in the recovery period. “The only thing I wanted was to not have cancer anymore, and I thought once it’s gone, I can deal with that. “You do get the realisation with something like this that our days are numbered and we’re not all invincible.” Adapting to using a prosthetic was “very difficult”, however, and Sophie initially found it “exhausting” to walk short distances. “It’s comforting to know this is the hardest it will ever be,” she said. “As time goes on, I’ll get better prosthetic parts, a better socket and knee joint, things that will make it easier.” Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE Sophie will now have a scan every three months for the next two years to monitor any potential recurrences of cancer. She has also returned to work, in a non-clinical setting for the time being, where she noticed she feels “more emotional” following her experience. Sophie is sharing her story to mark Bone Cancer Awareness Week by the Bone Cancer Research Trust, the UK’s leading charity dedicated to fighting primary bone cancer. “If sharing my story means bone cancer is spoken about more within healthcare, that’s the main thing,” she said. “I don’t assign any blame or anything, and I think it was really easy to say I was a young girl who pulled a muscle while exercising – I even made that conclusion in my own head. “It’s very rare, but knowing what to look out for or knowing the signs that put bone cancer apart from any kind of muscular issue would mean people like me don’t fall through the cracks.” For more information, visit the website for the Bone Cancer Research Trust here: bcrt.org.uk