Rail-Blue Charters' Preferred Charity

Raffles are organised on each excursion train and the monies collected will be donated to our preferred charity, The Sarcoma Trust. More information can be found at http://www.sarcoma-uk.org/trust/index.html”. 

The Sarcoma Trust also welcomes any individual donations, if you are interested, please make a cheque payable to “The Sarcoma Trust UK” and send to:

Orchard House

Bromley Road

Ludlow

Shropshire

SY8 1QY 

The Sarcoma Trust is the only UK charity focussed on the needs of patients with sarcomas, a group of rare cancers affecting connective tissues such as muscle, nerves, bone, joints and fatty tissue. They account for about 1% of all cancers diagnosed in adults, and about 15% of cancers diagnosed in children and teenagers. Altogether in the UK there are about 3,000 diagnoses a year. The Trust has three objectives:

1. fund research into better care and treatment for patients
2. support and inform patients and carers,
3. raise awareness of these often unknown cancers.

The Sarcoma Trust was founded in 2007 and is prioritising research in its first three years. Sarcomas are a very diverse group of cancers. 

Some facts:·        

1. There are some hereditary reasons why sarcoma will appear but most diagnoses have no recognisable cause
2. There are over 50 different types of the disease
3. While some sarcomas affect one particular part of the body others can appear almost anywhere
4. With so many differences there are also big differences in treatment
5. Good surgery can cure sarcoma but even when a cure is not possible some patients will live a long life without significant signs of the disease
6. Sarcomas account for about 3% of all amputations of a limb, many among children
7. If sarcoma becomes advanced, treatment is more difficult as these cancers do not respond well to radiotherapy or chemotherapy
8. New drugs are appearing which, it is hoped, will one day help turn it into a manageable disease